The Green in the Grass on the Other Side
by nelliesbones
Summary: One year from today he still wants her. One year from today she's still afraid. But something has to change... I believe in love. Spoilerfree, warmhearted and M for a reason.
1. The Promise in the Departure

I. The Promise in the Departure

One year from today.

The moment his hand let go of hers, she knew it was a mistake.

The moment he turned around one last time, every cell in his body wanted to run to her.

But the deal was sealed, the decision made. And so she walked away to change the entire notion of what it means to be human, and he went off to be a hero.

-BONES-

The first month she would look up whenever somebody said the word "bones". Considering her surroundings and the purpose of the mission it happened quite often, and she started to feel pathetic.

The second month he began to believe that the sand and dirt could never be washed off again. He tried to view it from Hodgins' perspective – see more than "sand" or "dirt" – but didn't succeed.

The third month she woke up one night, her stomach clenching with inexplicable waves of nausea. It felt as if there was a hole in her body, and despite being very literal, she failed to see the irony of her guts telling her that something was missing.

The fourth month the photo of her began to pale because of how many times he would be looking at it in the merciless sun. He traced the lines of her face with his fingers and tried to remember the feeling of her soft skin and silky hair under his hand. He wondered if she missed him.

The fifth month she finally admitted to herself that she did – perhaps more than in an "attagirl kind of way" in which one should miss their partner. She longed for the natural easiness of his touch, the way he grounded her and the feeling of belonging she used to get in his proximity. In an attempt to evoke that feeling, she sat down and wrote him a letter.

The sixth month a letter with a very colorful collection of stamps arrived, lightning up his face with the most genuine smile in a long time. She wrote about the dig, the colors of the rain forest, her everyday life on the campsite. She described a secluded waterfall she had found several weeks ago, and he closed his eyes, picturing her there. Slightly more tanned, her hands somewhat rougher – but still her. His wonderful and brilliant partner... _his Bones_. She ended her letter saying that she thought of him and expressing her hopes that he would be safe.

The seventh month she got a letter in a crumpled and slightly dirty envelope and her heart did a somersault. She studied her name in his handwriting for a long time, imagining the movements of his hand as he had been writing it down. She read about kids playing in the ruins of what used to be their school and the way the desert starts to blur with the horizon in the boiling heat. He admitted that every time the sun started to burn his skin, he would think of the comforting touch of her cool hand, imagined it soothe his burning forehead.

The eighth month his unit got ambushed and they lost a man. He got drunk that night, and not even the thought of her was comforting enough.

The ninth month a monsoon flooded their dig site, making them lose a month of work. Soaking wet and knee-deep in mud she stood watching the consequences of its disastrous rage, and cold desperation crept into her heart.

The tenth month he was way beyond missing her. He cursed his sentimental heart and his wish to pursue a romantic relationship with her. If he hadn't tried to change everything, she wouldn't have felt the need to run away. He just wanted to have her in his life again, to smell her rose shampoo, to hear her proud laughter when she understood a pop culture reference. He vowed to himself never to take a risk like that again.

The eleventh month an archaeologist from Russia asked her out. She enjoyed an evening in his company, reveled in his symmetric structure and the feeling of being a woman. But even before they finished the first beer she knew she wouldn't let him kiss her. Or anything else. It simply didn't seem right.

The twelfth months he was anxious to get back to his normal life and scared to death at the same time – scared that normal life as he knew it didn't exist anymore.

One year from today was now.


	2. The Man in the Soldier

II. The Man in the Soldier

When Sergeant Major Seeley Booth's airplane landed at Dulles International Airport, Washington D.C. greeted him with a cloudy grey sky. He got off the plane, eager to shower and trade his uniform and army title for the "Cocky" belt buckle and the FBI badge. After twelve months of dry heat his lungs couldn't get enough of the cool air, and his nose appreciated the familiar smell of rain in it. Booth had planned to come back in silence and slide into his old routine without much ado about it, but when he left the arrival area much ado was made as a curly-haired little boy flew right into his father's strong arms.

"Daddy, Daddy!"

"Parker, Buddy..." Booth inhaled the scent of his son and measured the new weight of him. He felt sorry for every missed inch his son had grown in the past year without him there to witness.

"Oh, Daddy, I've missed you so much! I won the science competition in school – Max helped me – I scored three times in the last game, and there is a baby elephant in the zoo, you have to see it."

Booth chuckled at the information overload, as his son went on putting a year of missed moments into one excited speech – and held him tighter.

"I'm proud of you, Parks, I've missed you a lot, and we can go to the zoo later this month if you like."

"Can Bones come? She must have missed us too, Dad."

"Bones will be back tomorrow and maybe she'll be tired for a few days, but we'll have to see."

Finally glancing up from his son's adoring eyes, he saw a group of people standing a few feet away, all of them offering their biggest smiles. Having held back to give him a moment with his kid, they were glad to finally catch his attention and immediately commenced enthusiastic waving of little "Welcome Home" flags. His heart swelled. 'My squint squad᾽, he thought.

Ange and Hodgins looked happy overall, Cam had a huge smile on her lips, and even Sweets' face showed genuine pleasure, but the biggest surprise was seeing Max Keenan and Caroline Julian. Deeply touched, Booth decided to make the most of it and hugged them all, one after another, long and tight. Parker giggled at the adults getting sappy and emotional, but nothing could disturb the happiness of the moment.

-BONES-

"Seeley, it's good to have you back." He felt Cam's slender arms around his neck.

"Camille, a pleasure to see you," he teased his old friend with her full name, and his eyes twinkled.

"Look what a gorgeous soldier you are." Angela was soft and warm in his arms, and he pressed a brief kiss on Bones' best friend's cheek.

"You don't look so bad yourself; a whole year in Paris must have been very good for you."

"Hey man," a deeper voice uttered to his left, "you're holding my wife a little bit too close there." Hodgins' blue eyes smiled up at him, and he found himself wrapped in a bear hug. Then it was Sweets' turn, and though the psychologist's face reddened a little after they let go of their embrace, he recognized new maturity and depth in the young man's eyes. 'Nothing makes you grow up like a year long separation from the woman you love.' Booth's musings were interrupted by Max Keenan giving his shoulder a generous slap.

"Hello young man. Missed my daughter, huh?"

"Bones is quite capable of looking after herself."

"That's not what I asked, but I'll let you get away with it for now."

'Fool yourself all you want, but you can't fool me', the older man thought, as Booth turned to face the redheaded prosecutor.

"Caroline, what a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"Shut up, Chéri, and give me a hug with those strong arms of yours," Caroline Julian snorted. Booth grinned from ear to ear as Caroline got her hug, and then noticed a woman standing a few feet away from the reunion party, a man beside her.

"Rebecca, it's good to see you," he said, giving the blonde woman a warm smile. He even felt in the mood to shake Brent's hand enthusiastically, but not without noticing with malevolent satisfaction that Captain Fantastic had gained a few extra pounds around his midsection in the last year.

"Seeley, it's good that you are back. Parker missed you so much; all he could talk about the past few days was you and Dr. Brennan being back. Every morning he crossed out another day in his calendar." She ruffled the hair of the little boy who refused to leave his father's side even for a second.

Parker nodded with a charming smile, "But tomorrow we'll pick up Bones, and then our whole family will be together again."

Booth glanced at his son in astonishment and wondered when the boy had started to count the squints and Bones as family. Truth be told, she was – they all were. _There is more than one kind of family._ He remembered his own words to Bones, and a hint of a smile touched his face. As they slowly turned towards the exit, he looked at the whole happy bunch of people, humming like a beehive with everybody talking at the same time, and felt truly blessed to have all of them back in his life again. He was home.

-BONES-

Booth turned his attention back to the group when a discussion started as to who had the privilege of driving him to his apartment. Casting just one look at the cars, he turned to Hodgins. "No offense, man, the Mini Cooper might seem roomy enough when you want to be close like lovebirds, but after fourteen hours in that crappy plane I need a little bit more space right now."

"None taken, but you shouldn't insult my car, it was of good service to you in the past." A dark flicker clouded Booth's eyes as he remembered the day Hodgins spoke of, when Brennan's life was in grave danger and he would have squeezed himself even into a sardine tin to save her.

"Hey, I'm sorry..." The bug guy sensed Booth's mood change and slapped himself mentally for bringing back the painful memory.

"It's cool man, everything turned out just fine." 'More that fine,' he thought, as he remembered the following evening at the hospital, Bones in her gorgeous dress.

"You should come with me Chéri, I'm giving that crook," Caroline pointed at Max, "a ride, I could use a straight man to balance out lack of morality."

Booth's eyes turned from Max to Caroline in surprise, and he wondered if he had imagined the affectionate look when she had said "crook". 'Whoa,' he thought, 'a year can really change things.' Before he could answer Parker tried to drag him towards Rebecca's car, but Booth didn't want to jeopardize his positive feelings for Captain Fantastic by giving himself forty-five more minutes to change his mind about the guy.

"If it's OK with everybody, I'd like to ride with Sweets," Booth said to everyone's astonishment. "I think there might be some things that need discussing before I can get back to normal."

One year can really change things, but Angela wondered if this was less to do with adapting to change in setting and more to do with comparing wounds. After all, Sweets was the one who had to deal with a similar scenario to that of Booth. Some old bones were found, and gone was the woman.

"Sure, throw your bags in the trunk – and off we go," Sweets said after recovering from the initial shock at Booth's request. But he wasn't a psychologist for nothing, and his assumptions took on a similar track to Angela's.

-BONES-

Another round of hugs and kisses later Booth was settled in Sweets' passenger seat and exhaled a deep breath. He opened his eyes again when he heard the ignition.

"So, have you heard anything from them?" Sweets' eyes avoided Booth as he whispered the burning question.

"Yeah, Bones wrote to me half a year ago," his hand automatically found its way to the letter in his chest pocket, and with that unintentional gesture he revealed to Sweets more than he'd intended. "She told me about her work and the camp." He didn't mention the waterfall; that was private. "And you?"

"Daisy wrote me a lot," the young man admitted, "she begged me to wait for her. I never wrote back."

"You didn't?" Booth couldn't hide his surprise, and Sweets came to the conclusion that Booth had taken a different course of action.

"You did."

"Of course I did, Bones is my friend, I missed her, why wouldn't I? I've put a great effort into showing her the ropes of a real friendship and partnership – and sharing doesn't work as a one-way street," Booth said. "Reading Bones' letter, I could really picture her on that dig site, in the middle of the jungle. It was a relief; it somehow made the whole thing real. I could have never denied her the same comfort. Why didn't _you_?"

"I guess I never saw it that way. But then again, my life hadn't changed in the past year, Daisy could imagine me easily, I suppose. I really tried to move on, but it's easier said than done. I was mad at her for putting our life on hold," Sweets cleared his throat, "I think I still am."

"Listen, kid, you still love her?" Booth could have missed the slight nod, but serving another year in the army had effectively sharpened his observation skills. "Then don't be a fool. Take a piece of advice from an old soldier: Life is short. If you love her, and she loves you back, don't waste it on holding grudges." Silence fell onto them for a few minutes.

"Thanks, Agent Booth," Sweets finally uttered. "You know, Daisy wrote about Dr. Brennan a lot. Seems as if she was the queen of the jungle there, with every oh so modest man falling at her feet." He risked a sideways glance at Booth and saw his clenched jaw. "She wouldn't even notice it. Daisy says the only day she saw Dr. Brennan truly happy was the day she received a letter. Maybe that means something to you."

Even though Booth could only hope that it was his letter having that effect on her, it did mean something to him. In fact, it meant a lot.

"Thanks for telling me that," Booth said, and his gratitude was heartfelt.

Sweets bowed his head.

"I know that I have messed with the two of you more than I probably should have, but believe me, I wished you both well." He sighed. "I'm just glad you're back. I want to see you and Dr. Brennan happy, and if it means watching you pick up where you left off in your 'we're just partners' dance, I'm fine with it. I just want life to go back to normal. The last year really sucked."

With that final statement Sweets stopped the car in front of Booth's building, and Seeley Booth let his eyes wander over the house – deeply familiar and strange at the same time. He wondered if everything would feel like this from now on, and when life would finally be normal again.

-BONES-

His apartment smelled like a year of standstill, even though Rebecca had taken care of the place. He kicked off his shoes and headed straight to the bathroom. His uniform went into the laundry basket, followed by his shirt and the boxers. Booth studied his reflection in the mirror – his arms seemed more muscular than they were a year ago, and he discovered a few new wrinkles in his face, none of them a result of laughing. The arms and face were tanned, his chest smooth, bearing the dog tags hanging from his neck, the hips narrow as always. His eyes fell to his more private parts, and he thought of the strange combination of military service and sexuality.

Some of the guys used their free days to hit on every woman in town. Most of them found release in stolen moments inside rustling sleeping bags, and though he hadn't lived like a eunuch all year, that part had never seemed particularly appealing to him. He preferred a woman's hand and body over his own palm every time. Hell, whom was he kidding, mostly he just thought of her. The idea of taking another woman to bed hadn't crossed his mind for a long time, and even though he would never admit it to his friend and partner, he felt no desire to share that sensual act of joy and pleasure with anyone but her. And she wasn't an option. Had he not tried to make it about more than sex, she could be in his arms by now, but he had to bring commitment into play, and off she ran. 'No,' he forced himself to remember, 'first she cried, and then she ran.' But then again, it could never be just sex with her.

He sighed and got into the shower. The water started with a rush, and he let the cold drops soothe his aching body. His eyes closed, and Booth arched his back into the stream of water. When his first longing for the liquid cold was satisfied, he changed the temperature to a warmer level, squeezed a generous amount of shower gel into his palm and gave himself a proper wash. Having watched every bit of sand rinsed out of his hair disappear down the drain, he reached for his razor and removed the stubble from his cheeks until all he felt under his fingers was smooth skin. With that he stopped the water, left the shower and dried himself methodically. Another look into the mirror convinced him that he started to look like his former self again, and satisfied with the outcome, he chose the bedroom as his next destination. He couldn't help a little smile at the piece of furniture which gave that room its name. Exhaustion started to wear him out, and he really looked forward to getting a good night's sleep in a modest bed.

But first there were some things to be done, and like a man on a mission he dressed into jeans and a shirt, grabbed the car keys from the counter and left the apartment. The FBI staff department first, then to the grocery store, he thought. He debated whether or not to make that trip to Bones' apartment he thought about – maybe it was the discussion with Sweets and her reaction to a certain letter from far away, but Booth felt like making her happy one more time. It was decided, the trip to her apartment stayed on his list.


	3. The Woman in the Anthropologist

III. The Woman in the Anthropologist

"Miss Wick, it would be very helpful if you stopped fidgeting around in your seat," Brennan stated, feeling slightly on the edge sitting next to the hyperactive young woman. She had become quite fond of Daisy Wick in the past year. After all, in addition to being reasonable and good at her job, Miss Wick was also Brennan's only link to home. She knew the lab, the squints and Booth; she knew another side of the world renowned anthropologist Temperance Brennan. However, that didn't mean that the bubbly young lady had lost her ability to unnerve her in the exact same way she would a year ago – especially now, half an hour away from D.C., half an hour away from her old life.

Fleeing for Indonesia a year ago, Brennan needed to gain some perspective on her life, and even though the dig had been a great success, anthropologically speaking, she wasn't sure if she had been as successful regarding the other department. Getting away from Booth physically had almost hurt, but getting away from him mentally, clearing her mind, had been even harder. Fine, maybe "even harder" was the wrong term, maybe she should have gone with "impossible" here.

Brennan thought of the endless nights Daisy Wick had cried about her "Lancelot" and the mistake she had made by leaving him. The countless mornings as she saw the young woman's face fall at no sight of a letter. 'At least Booth had written back,' she thought, he couldn't be that mad at her – and at least she had never embarrassed herself by shedding tears about the missing piece in her stomach...

Truth be told, Brennan had missed Booth more than she could have imagined. She was still scared to death about the offer he had made her over a year ago, but all evidence suggested that running off to Indonesia to take her mind off it, off _him_, was more counter-productive than not. She was by no means as clueless as everyone thought; she had recognized the looks other men on the dig would give her. She knew all she had had to do was choose one. But for once in her life Temperance Brennan could not do it. Not because someone had forced her into the corset of a monogamous relationship – she just hadn't wanted to.

As the plane started its final descent, Daisy went very still, her face chalk pale. Brennan gave the young woman credit for trying to keep her misery to herself and in a very uncharacteristic gesture she reached for her hand.

"Maybe he will be there to pick you up; maybe not writing back has been punishment enough."

Daisy nodded in a slow and hopeless way."What about Agent Booth? Will he be there for you?"

As always in the past year, Brennan's chest ached at the sound of his name. "No, he should be back by now, but we'll meet later. In another place." 'At the reflecting pool. Right by the coffee cart,' her mind added.

The security guard responsible for the pickup area of Dulles International Airport looked warily at the already familiar bunch of people he had seen there the day before. They had the same "Welcome Home" flags in their hands and the same expectant smiles on their faces. Eight adults and a little boy. The man wondered if they were some kind of a rentable welcome committee for pathetic people.

Unsuspecting of the scenario awaiting them, Brennan and Daisy left the arrival area, and then everything happened at once. Brennan heard Daisy squeal, and a long separated couple of lovers flew into each other's arms, as something small but solid collided with her legs and knocked her down. Her head hit the floor, and a small face surrounded by sweet curls entered her field of view.

"Bones, you're back! Oh, I've missed you, and Max did, too, and Daddy will be so happy to see you again. You look great," the little boy added with a charming smile.

'Like father, like son,' Brennan thought, still lying on the floor, Parker Booth lying on top of her. She put her arms around her partner's child, completely taken aback by his blunt display of emotions.

"Parker, I've missed you, too, and I'm very pleased to hear that you're so glad about my return, but maybe we should get off the floor anytime in the near future."

"Oh Bones," Parker giggled, "you still have such a funny way to talk." And he surprised her one more time by planting a big smooch on her nose.

-BONES-

Sweets and Daisy were lost to the world, but the remaining adults observed the touching scene in front of them with great interest. Rebecca felt somewhat embarrassed and surprised by her child's impetuous behavior. Sure, she knew that Parker liked Seeley's partner and had insisted vehemently on coming to the airport, but it appeared she had underestimated the role of Temperance Brennan in the boy's world. Angela Pearly Gates Montenegro Hodgins – 'Yeah, call me the Lady With Too Many Names,' she thought – looked at the boy cuddling her best friend and felt pride as she noticed that Brennan hadn't hesitated a second to return the embrace, quite unaffected by the fact that she was still lying on the floor in a public place. To Max Keenan his daughter was one of the strongest and most independent women on Earth, and he smiled at the picture of her knocked down by a little boy. As for Caroline Julian, well, she couldn't help but notice that at least Temperance Brennan was kissed welcome by _one_ Booth.

Finally the woman and the boy got back on their feet, and Brennan took in her surroundings. She smiled at the kissing couple, truly glad for Daisy's happy ending or happy beginning, whatever it was. Parker still glued to her side, she approached her friends, unable to decide whom to hug first and so – in another uncharacteristic gesture – she just closed her eyes and opened her arms. Soon she felt pressure around her waist, and soft strands of hair tickled her face.

"Angela," she whispered into her best friend's ear.

"Oh, Sweetie, you're back." They held each other close until Brennan felt a big hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, ladies; let an old man hug his only daughter."

"Dad." Brennan was enveloped by another pair of arms, and the scent of her father reminded her of childhood. She felt tears well up inside and chastised herself for becoming so emotional. 'When even this is too much,' she asked herself, 'how will I ever manage meeting Booth?'

Brennan exchanged hugs with Hodgins and Cam as well, and, much to her surprise, even Rebecca patted her arm in a very sweet way.

"A year ago a very distinguished woman left us and back comes a sentimental girl?" Caroline Julian arched a brow at Brennan, but the latter only shrugged.

"Every once in a while a little display of emotion seems appropriate to me."

"Appropriate, huh? By the way, where is that handsome partner of yours? Didn't dream he might miss an opportunity to see his bone lady all mushy."

"I'm not 'mushy', and Booth isn't here because we'll meet later in another place." At the reflecting pool. Right by the coffee cart.

-BONES-

This time Angela and Hodgins had traded the Mini Cooper for a bigger vehicle and consequently won the right to give Brennan a ride to her apartment. In a not so subtle gesture Angela started her iPod and put the ear buds into her husband's ears. Hodgins just smiled, he understood Angela's need for stories and gossip. Considering Dr. Brennan's lack of girl talk skills he deemed the iPod a reasonable compromise and made himself comfortable in the back seat. He started to hum along to the tunes as his wife steered the vehicle out of the car park.

"Why did you just deafen your husband?" Brennan asked when they drove into the morning traffic.

"Because I haven't seen my best friend in a year, I'm dying for a chick talk and wanted to give us some privacy."

"Ange, I really don't understand what a chicken has to do with this," – Angela rolled her eyes – "but there really isn't much to tell that Dr. Hodgins couldn't hear."

"Brennan, come on, you've been in Indonesia for a year, it was really hot there, there were no strings attached – tell me about the fun you had."

"Fine, it was very hot, and one day we found that skull with several amazing markers-"

"Sweetie, not _that_ kind of fun. I want to hear everything about the hot diggers, private waterfalls and pelvis exercises, not about bone stuff," Angela interrupted her friend.

"Well, there was a waterfall, and like I told Booth, it was really beautiful, but there were no pelvis exercises to speak of."

"OK, Sweetie, my curiosity is about to kill me here, and I don't really know which question I should ask first, so I'll ask both: You had no sex in that wild, hot jungle? And when did you tell Booth about the waterfall?"

"No sex was had, and I told Booth about the waterfall in a letter I wrote."

"You sent letters to Booth?"

"Not letters, just _a_ letter."

"And did he send letters to you?"

"Again without the plural, Angela," Brennan admitted shyly. Ange almost pitied her friend's discomfort, but not enough to drop the topic.

"So you wrote him, and he wrote back." Brennan nodded.

"That was really nice of you. What did you write?" Angela's face softened.

"Not much, just described my life there and reminded him to stay safe."

"So no deep confessions of any kind," Angela waved her hand at her friend's confused facial expression, "never mind. What made you write to him in the first place?"

"I don't know. I tried to imagine him in Afghanistan, but he felt so," Brennan searched for a word, "gone. And I thought that maybe he felt the same about me. So I wrote him and described my life."

"To reconnect with him," Angela finished her sentence.

"When put that way it sounds quite pathetic, but at that moment it felt like a good idea," Brennan reasoned.

"Honey, it was a good idea, it really was. I'm glad you did it. You felt better after you got his letter, didn't you?" Brennan nodded. "I'm sure he felt the same."

"Did you pick him up at the airport yesterday?"

"You bet we did," Angela smiled.

"What... what did he look like?"

"Like a soldier coming home. Happy to see his people. A little bit haunted, but nothing a beer and a hug couldn't fix."

"I'm glad he's safe."

Wondering with amusement if it was one of the most selfless acts of her whole life, Angela decided to let her friend get away with that simple statement and her still unresolved feelings for a certain FBI agent slash soldier. Another hug and a kiss on the cheek later Temperance Brennan stood in front of her apartment building for the first time in twelve months. She took a deep breath, prepared herself and entered the house.

-BONES-

The first thought that sprang to her mind was that her place looked huge. But then again, after a year spent in an Indonesian dig camp even a circus trailer would probably seem huge. Brennan smiled at the memory of one particular trailer and a fake Russian couple. She looked around; everything seemed to be fresh and clean, taken good care of.

'Mental note to myself, send an additional check to the cleaning company,' she thought.

All of sudden, something yellow caught her eyes, and she gasped. A beautiful bunch of daffodils awaited her on the table. A note next to them read, "Bones, they're not as exotic as your rain forest flowers, but they are home. Welcome home. Sorry that I broke into your place. Coffee?"

"Oh, Booth..."

Once again it seemed as if her chest wasn't big enough anymore. Deeply touched by his sweet gesture, she ran her fingertip over the soft yellow petals. Assuring herself that she was alone and nobody would ever know, she lowered her face to the flowers, closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of spring. The silence was broken by a ringing phone, and she guiltily jumped away.

"Temperance Brennan?"

"Dr. Brennan, a Mr. Seeley Booth wanted to make sure that you wouldn't miss your appointment at twelve o'clock. He said you knew the place." At the reflecting pool. Right by the coffee cart.

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

She quickly checked her watch. 10.30 am. Ninety more minutes to go. She still had no clue what seeing him after a year apart would be like, and queasiness overwhelmed her. Remembering Daisy's breathing exercises, Brennan took a deep, steady breath. 'Relax,' she tried to discipline herself, 'this is Booth. All you've ever wanted for the past year was to be together with him again.' Standing there, in the middle of her apartment, yellow daffodils her only witnesses, she realized that this was the first time she had dared to admit this to herself; the simple truth that she wanted him back in her life more than anything. A piece in her stomach fell back in place, and a part of the hole there was gone. She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of that sensation and hurried into the shower. Eighty more minutes left – no need to waste another one looking quite literally like someone out of the jungle.


	4. The Heartbeat in the Reunion

IV. The Heartbeat in the Reunion

At 11.50 am Booth ordered coffee. A mild breeze was caressing his face, and the air smelled like civilization and rain. Not that he noticed any of it; all his thoughts centered on Temperance Brennan and the minute he'd see her again. He longed for it. He dreaded it. Again, he vowed to himself that having her as his partner and friend was so much better than not having her at all, and that he would never push her too hard or too far again.

At 11.55 am she saw him. The odd sensation in her chest was back, and she took another deep breath. He looked good in his jeans and sweatshirt, slightly broader around the shoulders, his hair a little bit shorter than usual. She noticed that he tapped with his left foot and wondered if he might be nervous as well. Her heels clicked on the pavement as she started to walk into his direction.

He looked up – and saw her.

Black skirt, pale blue shirt, soft auburn curls around her face. Her skin was tanned, her hair a little bit longer than he remembered... Her body delicate and graceful as always. The coffee fell out of his hand, and then brown met blue as his eyes burnt into hers. She was just a few feet away now, and he still couldn't move, mesmerized by her eyes. 'Anyone who had ever called her cold or unfeeling didn't bother to look into her eyes,' he thought. The endless depths whose range of colors went from the palest baby-blue to the most sparkling azure ever painted. One could see the frightened girl there, waiting hopelessly for her parents' return; the brilliant young student who had found her sanctuary in science, in a world that wouldn't betray her; the beautiful woman who was still too afraid to believe that she deserved to be loved. Right now her eyes were cerulean and full of unspoken emotions. His partner gnawed her lower lip and had that familiar little frown on her face. Booth realized that she was just as anxious as him, and the hint of a smile tugged at his lips.

"Temperance Brennan, I suppose."

Too much to feel, so he searched for rescue in the safe water of teasing her. But, apparently, she was not in the mood for it. She was finally standing in front of him, and just like one year ago, their hands found each other. He noticed the trembling of hers as she let her long fingers stroke over his knuckles. She felt lost, completely lost in the whirlwind of emotions inside, so she started to count his phalanges. At one she felt him hold his breath. At two the knot in her throat became unbearable. At three she started crying. And at four she was in his arms. He buried his nose in her hair, and his hand was slowly drawing circles over her back.'She's your partner, Seeley, your friend – give her space, don't hold her too tight,' a little voice in his head kept singing. However, said partner seemed to be oblivious to his inner battle, and as she sobbed softly into his chest and crossed her arms behind his neck to pull him even closer, he gave in and held her with everything he had. Booth blinked at the moisture in his eyes, took a shuddering breath and lost himself in long missed familiarity of hugging Temperance Brennan...

Brennan felt surrounded by Booth. He was everywhere – his arms around her waist, his hands on her back, his face in the crook of her neck, his nose in her hair, her face pressed into his solid chest. She could smell his aftershave, the detergent and _him_. Her fingers found the soft hair on his neck and caressed the warm skin underneath it. As her tears and sobs subsided, she became aware of his heartbeat under her cheek, strong and reassuring. He was there, she was there, it was real.

At 12.15 pm Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan still stood in an embrace so powerful that it could have been directly out of a romantic novel. Neither of them noticed the older couple sitting a few benches apart and sipping their coffees. The man let his eyes wander from the beautiful couple to the woman next to him.

"Satisfied your curiosity, nosy lady?"

"Shut up, you old crook," she slapped his arm tenderly, "you wanted to see it as well."

"Ah, yes, I have to admit, even if I'll never have the chance to see my daughter in a wedding gown, this," he waved his hand into the couple's direction, "pretty much makes up for it."

"They sure have a lot of steamboats," Caroline said. "Do you think they'll make it?"

"That may require some more time, but look at them."

"Yeah, there really isn't much more to say, is it?"

The man and the woman smiled at each other, they both felt a tad puckish today, and with a conspirative chuckle they left their observation spot and strolled away.

-BONES-

At 12.30 pm it started to rain, and Temperance Brennan disentangled herself from her partner. She felt quite pathetic again, but when her eyes searched for his face, she found his eyes puffy and red as well.

"Oh Booth..."

"Hi, Bones. You missed me, then?"

His cocky smile made its way back to his lips, and she rolled her eyes. Seemed as if he was better at regaining composure than she was, but it didn't bother her that much. Right now she felt as if nothing could. 'No,' she corrected her own term of thought; the rain had seriously started to bother her. Her shirt was already clinging quite uncomfortably to her upper body, and she blinked as raindrops fell into her eyes. Booth watched some of them get caught in her long lashes and slowly reached out his hand. He cupped her face and brushed the unwelcome moisture away with his thumb. She thanked him with a sweet smile, unable to ignore the already familiar strange feelings in her chest and her stomach at the touch of his hand. 'Okay, this has to stop,' she chastised herself, 'you're a forensic anthropologist, and there are no "things" in chests or holes in stomachs.'

"Where do we go from here?" escaped her lips, and she didn't completely know what she had meant with that question. He decided to ignore the double entendre and pointed at the clouds.

"I'd say everywhere is better than here, huh? My apartment or your apartment, it's up to you. My fridge is well-stocked, but I have some extra grocery bags in my car if you prefer your place."

Her mind wandered to the daffodils. She wanted to go back to them, but she wasn't sure if going back to them with Booth was such a good idea in her current emotional state.

"Your place is fine. Thank you for the flowers, by the way, they're lovely." He blushed, and his eyes fell to her feet.

"You don't mind that I broke into your apartment, then?"

"You have a key; that hardly qualifies as breaking in," she stated. And, with that simple remark, they were back to normal. Or almost so because when they walked into the direction of his car, she took his hand into hers and didn't let it go again. As the two of them reached his black SUV, they were wet to the skin.

"You have your car back," she said. "Car, badge, gun, I'm all set. On Monday I'll be a real FBI agent again," he flashed her a smile.

'How was being back in the army,' she wanted to ask, but she was afraid of his answer. Afraid that he'd hated it; afraid that he'd liked it. He hadn't asked about the dig yet. Was he afraid of her answer as well?

Wordlessly they entered the car, but before he started the engine, Seeley Booth turned his head and took a mental picture of the woman sitting next to him. She and him in his car – that was what he had missed the most during the last year. The simple reassurance that she would be there every day, sitting next to him, belonging to him. Sometimes people wondered why he always picked her up before driving to a crime scene – like a guy would do for his date – but he simply had to do it. He loved having her in his car. Brennan fastened her seat belt, and his eyes fell to the place where the outline of her bra was visible under the wet shirt. Booth swallowed, and his ears turned pink when he noticed that she looked at him curiously. Yeah, having her in his car was as good as he remembered it...

-BONES-

His place looked the same, but still different somehow. She was trying to put her finger on it, as a small puddle began to form at her feet.

"Listen, Bones, are you hungry? I could fix us something while you shower and change."

"Yeah, I could eat. And dry clothes would be nice. I," she paused and wondered about her sudden shyness, "I don't have spare clothes with me."

"Of course, hold on a second," he disappeared into the direction of his bedroom, and she could hear him rummaging around. "There. Probably a little bit too big for you, but nice and dry." 'And soft,' he wanted to add as he handed her a pair of sweatpants and one of his grey shirts, but suddenly the prospect of her in his clothes overwhelmed him somewhat, even without the thought of softness added to it. "Here."

"Thank you." He gave her a towel as well, and with her arms full she headed to the bathroom.

'Breathe, Seeley,' he told himself, 'she is you partner, she is back, don't mess it up.' So breathe he did, as he thought of the pure joy of having her back – the woman who rocked his world and who was now in his shower. Naked. He shook his head and tried to focus his mind on food.

Alone in her partner's bathroom, Temperance Brennan leaned her back against the door and closed her eyes. She was still dizzy and overly emotional. Her body tingled as she remembered the hug. She felt weak, and that wasn't a feeling she appreciated at all. 'Maybe Caroline was right,' she thought, maybe she was too emotional for her own good today. She had cried in her partner's arms before – when her mother had been found dead, and on several other occasions – but she had never ever cried _because_ of being in Booth's arms. Slowly she removed her wet apparel and carefully draped it over the sink before getting into the shower. She was still nice and clean, but she welcomed the warmth of the water as it started to caress her body. 'Booth's shower,' she thought. 'Where he showered. Naked...'

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Booth was busy frying a burger for himself and a veggie burger for her. The preparation of the food had grounded him, and he tried to concentrate on fulfilling her basic needs. Hunger. Thirst. Thirst! He went to his fridge and wondered briefly if it was too early for beer. 'Ah, what the hell, with her operating on Indonesian time and my own internal clock still messed up by the last year, a beer couldn't hurt,' he decided and opened two bottles. The burgers went on the plates, already awaited there by a little salad dish, and he was prepared. Or so he thought until she emerged from his bathroom, and he let out a loud breath.

She was so beautiful. Her hair was still wet and curly around her clean face, not a trace of make-up left. His shirt enveloped her way too comfortably, and his pants were so long that her bare feet were half-hidden underneath them. She seemed so young, so innocent, and suddenly he wanted to know desperately how she looked in the light of an early morning, her eyes still clouded from sleep, and her hair all mussed. Barely awake, still unprepared for the day...

During the last five years he had seen her in ugly coveralls, blue lab coats and countless fancy, little dresses. Nothing could ever hide her natural beauty; nothing could ever top it. Nevertheless, the sight of her freshly showered and wearing only his clothes was nearly his downfall.

"Oh, Temperance..." It left his mouth before he could think, and instantly he saw her stiffen at the raw emotion in his voice.

"Booth," her eyes pleaded him to let it go, and he recognized vulnerability in them similar to the one that was there more than a year ago, on the night he'd gambled and lost. He nodded and cleared his throat.

"You're in time for dinner, Bones. Want a beer?"

'Isn't it too early for a beer,' she was about to ask, but the memory of that look on his face made her choke on her words, and Brennan found herself thankful for the prospect of a strong beverage to help her through the whirlwind of emotions she felt.

"Yes, thanks." She padded into the kitchen area, and the delicious smell of food hit her nostrils. "Hmm, Booth, that looks very tasty."

"Yeah, Bones, do not count your chickens before they're hatched," he teased, and it was the second time in one day that she wondered about chicken.

"It seems there is an awful lot of metaphors about chicken, Booth," she said looking at him with big, serious eyes before raising the bottle to her lips. He chuckled.

"Bones, what are the names of the ear bones?"

"Malleus, incus, stapes – why?"

"Because, lady, you know way too much, and if there wasn't something like a chicken metaphor once in a while I could tease you with, I'd feel too stupid around you. Now sit down. Eat."

She followed him into the living room and found herself smiling as she turned her attention to the plate – the amount of green on it was probably more for her sake than for his own. A silence close to comfortable settled over them as they ate, and she tried collecting her thoughts. His use of her first name combined with that look in his brown eyes had pulled the ground from under her feet. She could have dealt with it if she hadn't felt so defenseless in his clothes. The soft fabric on her skin would normally cover his, and that idea was so intimate that it scared her and made her long for more at the same time. Brennan's mind wandered to Angela and how her own life should have felt wide in the past year, but, truth be told, nothing in that vast jungle of Indonesia had ever felt bigger than sitting in her partner's kitchen and sharing a meal with him.

She remembered the waterfall, her private spot, how she'd wanted to show it to him when she had discovered it. That paradisiacal place wouldn't have felt the same without him on her mind, without the wish to share it with him. When she'd undressed herself and entered the emerald depths, water drops pearling between her breasts, she had seen him there with her, similar drops cooling his well-defined chest. Temperance Brennan was familiar with the concept of burning biological urges and the need to connect with another human being physically, but when she had stood underneath that pure waterfall, it wasn't sexual desire which had made her think of Booth. It was him, _all_ of him, and she realized that she had really underestimated his influence on her. He had taught her the meaning of sharing better than anybody else, and apparently, deep down she had listened. Simple sexual intercourse had somehow lost its importance, as if the mere act of it could not satisfy her anymore. She tried not to think about it too hard, but part of her blamed it on the countless making love speeches a certain handsome man had given her in the last years. It seemed as if fragments of his reasoning had kept lingering in her brain, messing with her rationality there. It still scared her to death. At the same time, that didn't mean that she had not thought about sex with him as well...

Her musings were so palpable that Booth felt the hair on his neck tingle with anticipation. He had no idea what to expect, or where her mind had wandered to, but he felt that something inside of her was happening. He didn't know whether it was good or bad, but how much worse than the stupid idea of being a year apart could it get? He reassured himself that everything would be fine, that they were finally back and able to move on. He had gambled once and wasn't willing to risk anything so important ever again because important she was. He was a man dedicated to his beloved ones – his son, his friends – and his duty. He was an FBI agent with every fiber of his being and he believed in justice. But, above all else, he was her partner. As corny as it sounded, she was everything for him. To him she was beautiful on both the inside and outside. Her brilliant mind had saved him on the job a hundred times over. Her strong and compassionate heart radiated warmth toward everyone she had decided to let in. Her smile could make his day. And, after all these years, she could still surprise him and make him laugh; maybe that was the biggest miracle of all. It was like he had said, he just _knew_. He was hyper aware of her presence next to him on his couch and decided to push all the troubling thoughts away for the day, to simply let himself be happy in her company.

Booth was a man to make a decision and act on it, but when he finally raised his eyes from his empty plate he already found her looking at him. The sparkling in her blue orbs caught him off guard, but he managed to mask his feelings quite quickly.

"Hey, Bones, you're all done?"

"Yes. Thanks Booth, that was a very good meal. Thank you for cooking for me." He hesitated briefly.

"I wanted to do it. You know, it's home."

She knew exactly what he meant, and her heart ached at his sweet way of welcoming her. The flowers, the meal – he had bathed her in precious little signs of affection, but he had never pushed her, never given her more than she could take. In a brief moment of clarity she wondered what it would be like to really let him in. Without an escape pod, without a safety net, just all the way in. Would he still bring her flowers? What else would he do? Would he want to be strong all the time, or could he give up some of his control? Without a doubt she knew it would be right and perfect because this was Booth. Except, "perfect" was what scared her the most. She doubted _she_ could ever be perfect for him. She doubted she could survive a life _after_ perfect. Besides, the rational part of her still refused to accept the concept of perfect love to begin with. So she opted for a little smile and the offer to wash the plates. Nonchalantly he declined her help and carried both plates to the sink. His soft whistling accompanied the sound of the streaming water, and she felt deep peace and exhaustion settling in.

Having returned to his living room several minutes later, he found her sound asleep. She was curled up on his couch, her head lying on the armrest, almost dry strands of silky hair surrounding her face. He took a seat in the armchair across her, sipped on his beer and studied her sleeping form. She had the face of a warrior and an angel. He found new freckles on her nose, a parting gift from the tropical sun. He could see her chest rise and fall along with her steady breaths. Her hands rested under her chin, and he noticed the rough tips and her unusually short fingernails. 'Another reminder of the last year,' he thought. When his eyes wandered to her feet, he was irrationally glad to see her skin there still as milky white as he was used to. Hidden in ankle boots most of the time, carrying her from find to find, her feet probably hadn't had a big chance to relax and see the sunlight. He wanted to caress them, to massage them like a man would do for his woman after a hard day's work – but again, that wasn't an option. When he couldn't stand the sweet torture of watching her asleep anymore, he sighed and decided to cover her with a blanket. As he tugged her in carefully, she stirred and whimpered so softly that it touched his soul. He granted himself the luxury to take in her unique scent, and when his greedy heart begged for more, he lowered his head slowly and brushed his lips over her rosy cheek. Twice.

Flickers of colorful flowers crossed her sleepy mind, combined with the chirps of exotic birds and the rich smell of rain. Suddenly something else was added to that smell, a very familiar male scent and the soft pressure of lips and stubble on her cheek. She smiled in her sleep, feeling cherished and safe...


	5. The Novelty in the Normality

V. The Novelty in the Normality

By the end of the first week they were back in the saddle again – not that Brennan would have understood that expression. But she felt the rightness of being back at the Jeffersonian, back in the sterile environment of her lab. The bones were white, clean and dustless, the instruments sterile, the air comfortably cool. Their team was together again, and Cam wasn't the only one relieved to have the old and familiar feeling back. Surprisingly, no new case had popped up, but Booth dropped by the Institute more often than not, sitting on his partner's desk, taking her to the Diner.

Everything was back to normal, and if their glances lingered on each other more often than usual, if her stomach fluttered from time to time, and if his hand stayed on the small of her back longer than necessary, they didn't care. Though, apparently, somebody did because when Angela dragged Brennan into her office on Friday afternoon, the anthropologist could see her best friend somehow running out of patience.

"Sweetie, this has to stop, the two of you are driving me crazy," the artist bubbled. "I already had to lure Jack into the storage locker twice today."

"Angela, I don't understand your need to tell me this; what do I have to do with your sexual activities?"

"Brennan, this is insane. You and Booth are creating more electricity than the biggest powerhouse in the city. If you find Cam in a compromising position with Mr. Nigel-Murray tomorrow, you are the only one to blame."

"Angela, that doesn't make sense. I have to admit that there has been some tension between Booth and me lately, but it's not reasonable to think that we could trigger sexual stupidity."

"Sweetie, what is this thing between the two of you? And when will you finally do something about it?" Angela almost pleaded, and Brennan decided that honesty was the best way out of this.

"I don't know. Sometimes I look at him, and he stares at me in a way that sends shivers down my spine. Which doesn't make sense because the spine is there to erect the body, to hold the vertebrae in place. When he says goodbye to me at the end of the day, I sometimes want him to stay, but when he stands too close it suffocates me." Angela saw glimpses of despair in her friend's eyes as Brennan struggled to regain her composure before continuing.

"You know, none of that even matters because I don't think he wants to give us a shot anymore; I think he has really moved on and is content with our friendship. It's probably for the best. I just have to get used to 'normal' again."

"Brennan, whom are you kidding? That poor guy is so much into you, he doesn't even know the concept of moving on. If he's holding back, he's just doing it for your sake. You have to deal with that. But deal with it fast. Don't let your fears ruin your chance of true happiness. Open up your heart and live a little, Sweetie. The two of you are right for each other just enough to be the luckiest people on Earth."

"Angela, if I do this, and someday he'd decide that I'm not enough for him, I," her voice faltered, "I couldn't deal with that. Besides, he deserves a woman who truly believes in love and happily-ever-after."

"But he wants _you_. He's wanted you for the last six years and hasn't gone away yet, has he? Have some faith in his belief that you are this woman for him. You are strong, beautiful and you care so much."

At her friend's last words Brennan could feel the unwelcome wetness in her eyes again, and with a last, "Oh, Sweetie," Angela closed the distance between them and took her into her arms. She rocked her softly and made soothing noises as Brennan sobbed into her shoulder.

"It's okay, this is hard for you, I know. But have faith..."

After a couple of minutes Brennan had her emotions under control again and felt safe to leave the warm circle of Angela's arms.

"Thank you. You really are my best friend, you know that, don't you?"

"I know, Sweetie, and I love you too. And now, please, humor your best friend. Let's go out tonight, all of us. Some fun, some dancing to lighten up the atmosphere around, what do you say?"

"Angela, I don't know..."

"Please, Brennan. For me. Please."

Brennan nodded, conceding. "OK, for you."

-BONES-

10 pm that night found all of them in a tasteful little club downtown. Angela and Hodgins swayed to the music on the dance floor, as Daisy and Sweets were eating each other with their eyes. Booth traced the cool beer bottle in his hand with his fingers, taking in his partner. Temperance Brennan was wearing a simple black dress with a low V-neck, and the fluffy hem played around her delicate knees. Black high-heels elongated her gorgeous legs, and her auburn hair was falling freely onto her shoulders. She laughed at something Cam had said and threw her head back in a moment of joy. Involuntarily, he had to smile at the sight of her enjoying herself. It was a nice evening out with friends, but Booth couldn't help thinking that a dance with her would be the icing on his cake. The music changed to a heavier beat, and it was now or never.

"Hey, Bones," he tapped her shoulder, "wanna dance?"

She arched an eyebrow at her partner's question. A dance? With touching? She wondered about the wisdom of that, but the music seemed to be fast and safe at the moment, so she quickly made up her mind.

"Sure, Booth."

She took one more sip of her dark red wine, placed her glass carefully on the bar and accepted his outstretched hand. At the touch of his skin a jolt of electricity hit her body, and she followed him slightly dazed to the dance floor. Booth had felt it, too, and as much as he wanted to touch her again, he was thankful for the fast vibes which allowed dancing individually and with some distance between them. They moved to the music, and his eyes flickered over her body. Her cheeks were flushed, and from time to time her dress waved around her body in a way that allowed him a view of her slender thighs. He admired her dance moves and found his own rhythm.

Without warning, the band changed to a slow and soft tune. In his eyes was an unspoken question, and after brief hesitation she accepted his proposition with a shrug. He took her small hand into his bigger one and pulled her close. She felt the warmth of his body; his arms circled around her waist, and one of his palms caressed her bare back. With a sigh she wrapped herself around his broad shoulders and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Enveloped in his heat and scent, she heard him humming along to the music. It caused soft vibrations that rolled from her skin into her nerve endings until every cell in her body was humming with him – and for the first time in months, Temperance Brennan felt just like a woman. Forgotten was the renowned forensic anthropologist, forgotten was the bestselling author. She was just a woman dancing with a man she cared about. Suddenly, everything she had felt during their reunion at the reflecting pool was back, and she lost herself in her partner. Her arms reached for the back of his neck, and she pulled his body to hers even tighter. If it were possible for a human being to crawl into another one, she would have done it. Her feet moved in unison with his, and she had lost all control over this dance. When she finally looked at him a little breathlessly, he gave her a shy smile and brought his hand to her face. His fingers touched her jaw gently as he brushed a silky strand of her hair aside. A myriad of emotions flickered through his dark brown eyes, and she felt that familiar twinge in her chest again. And, finally, Temperance Brennan listened to that longing deep inside, brought her lips to his and kissed him like a woman would kiss her man.

-BONES-

When Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth started to dance really close, it happened under the attentive eyes of their friends. Every one of them admired the beautiful picture they painted as a couple, and none of them failed to notice how much the two cared about each other. They could fool themselves, but to every observer their deep affection was obvious.

"I feel like in the middle of a stupid romantic chick flick and I cannot look away," Cam stated in her characteristically calm way.

"The only question is," Hodgins added, "will it be a romantic comedy or a drama?"

Then Temperance Brennan looked up, and her lips found her partner's. Several jaws dropped, some "aaawwws" were heard. Booth kissed her back in such a sweet, affectionate way that suddenly they all felt as if they were observing something truly intimate and private.

"I hope for a happy ending tonight and I vote for giving them some privacy," Angela finally said. "Let's go, guys."

Unbeknown to two people on a dance floor, a small group left a bar into a mild Washington D.C. night, and when Brennan and Booth finally returned to the world, their friends were nowhere to be seen. A meaningful silence followed their loving kiss, and they decided to call it a night. He guided her to the car and as he steered the vehicle through the dark city night, he felt something he hadn't allowed himself to feel during the whole last year: hope. Way too early they arrived in her street, and he parked in front of her building. Brennan took a deep breath and quickly kissed his smooth cheek. Long before he had recovered from this surprise he heard the sound of the closing car door and fast clicks of her heels on the pavement. She had kissed him. But then she had fled. He heard her words in his head. 'I don't know what that means.'


	6. The Damage in the Words

VI. The Damage in the Words

'Oh my God, what was that?' Temperance Brennan thought, and this was big progress because during the whole ride home she hadn't made it further than "Oh my God". She didn't even believe in a God, but it seemed as if her brilliant mind was blank except for that sentence. Rationally, she knew what she had done. She had kissed her partner in the middle of a crowded dance floor, and probably all of their friends had seen it.

She knew that she had felt the rough softness of his tongue against hers, that his palm had cupped the back of her head very tenderly. He had tasted strong and sweet and – Booth. She remembered her hands finding their way under his jacket and his warmth through the fabric of his shirt. So, she perfectly knew what that was, rationally speaking, but, firstly, she had no idea why she had done it. Usually in their partnership Booth was the one interested in the whys, but such a bold move had made even someone like her wonder about a motive. And, secondly, she had no explanation for her feelings during that kiss – so out of control, so devoted. Her own sudden need to be close to him had surprised her; as if she was an addict and he the purest drug.

Temperance Brennan wasn't a woman to fall for a man, and never in her adult life had she felt dependent, but something inside of her had decided to kiss him, and her brain had been unable to prevent her body from doing it. Seeley Booth was her partner, her best friend, one of the most important pillars of her world. Fine, _the_ most important. She had faith in him, she trusted him. But she didn't trust herself enough not to ruin their friendship if things went any further. 'This out of control thing has to stop,' she decided with a deep breath.

Little did that wise woman know about the basic concept of "out of control". You cannot stop it. You cannot control it...

-BONES-

When Seeley Booth felt his partner's lips on his own the world stopped around him. Her sweet mouth, her demanding tongue, her soft lips became his world. Without hesitation he had returned the kiss, had offered himself to her. He didn't care about their friends or anything else. Temperance Brennan was kissing him, and the rest lost its importance. She tasted like honey and expensive wine; she felt weightless but still solid and real in his arms. She was so incredibly important to him, and he wanted to hold her, to kiss her forever. He wanted to take her home, make love to her and show the world that she was his, that she had chosen him. Even her sudden departure from the car couldn't crash his hope completely, and when he stopped by the Jeffersonian on Monday evening, a smile played on his lips.

He dropped a case file, and as he was gathering its contents from the floor, he heard voices coming from her office. Brennan and Angela were in the middle of a conversation, and apparently, the artist wasn't in high spirits at all. Eavesdropping wasn't his intention, but when he understood the meaning of Angela's words, something ice-cold grabbed his heart. At Brennan's answer the ice-cold something proceeded to crush it, making the stupid heart shatter into thousand pieces.

"You were on a date?"

The two women turned around, shocked to see him standing in the door frame, and Angela made a quick exit.

"Sorry, Sweetie, that's your own mess."

"You. Were. On. A. Date? How could you?"

Brennan took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. She had needed some distance; she had needed to be in control again. How could she explain that to her devastated partner?

"Yes. An old friend of mine called, and I felt in the mood for some company. I," she paused because she knew that she was about to lie, "I don't owe you an explanation."

"You don't owe me an explanation? _Hell_ you do. You pull me, you push me, you go away for a year. Then you come back, and I try to play nice, try to be your friend."

"Booth."

"No, Temperance, no. I'm sick of being a puppet on your strings. You don't want me? Fine. But then, do not dare to kiss me. Do not dare to look at me with those puppy eyes of yours, and do not dare to touch me."

His harsh words hit her hard, and she felt wetness gathering in her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, lady, don't you dare cry now. Have you any idea what you're doing to me?"

Anger and hurt radiated from his body like electricity.

"Booth, my actions and needs are none of your concern. Your behavior is inappropriate," she tried, but it only seemed to fuel his anger.

"Inappropriate? You know what's really inappropriate? Your reckless attitude towards relationships. You have no idea how stupid you are. You think your crappy, string-less dates and sexual _intercourses_ make you strong and independent when in truth they're are the biggest proof of your incapacities. You have no idea what strength really is, and you aren't woman enough to be independent in a real relationship. Maybe you really are cold and dead inside, too damaged to act like a normal human being. Maybe you are no more alive than the rotten bones you love so much. Maybe the limbo is the perfect place for you after all."

Now she was crying. Never before had he acted so mean towards her. Part of her knew that he didn't mean it, that his words were spoken due to his own deep hurt, but the other part of her felt beaten and betrayed by her best friend. She inhaled a shaky breath.

"If this is what you really think about me, you should be glad that my damaged heart is none of your problems."

Booth covered his eyes in a desperate gesture.

"You know what? You were right, Temperance. You don't owe me anything. We're done."

It was long after he had left that her deep sadness and hurt turned into burning anger. How could he?


	7. The Anger in the Encounter

VII. The Anger in the Encounter

She was furious. Really, really mad at him. When he opened his door to her banging fists, he found her with red strains on the cheeks and a dangerous sparkle in her ice blue-eyes.

"What the fuck was that?" She stormed into his apartment, barely giving him time to acclimate to her anger.

"What the _fuck_ was that, Temperance? What exactly do you mean?"

It seemed as if he didn't need time to acclimate at all as his own anger still matched hers in intensity tenfold. He took a dangerous step in her direction.

"You mean the part where you kissed me?"

Another step.

"Where you gave me hope that this was finally going somewhere? How about the part where you decided that you couldn't stand it – again?"

Another step.

"Or the part where you had the brilliant idea a date with some stupid guy could give you what you want? The part where you told me about your needs? As if I didn't know what you were talking about because, Temperance, I need it as well. Contact. Friction. Release."

One more step.

"But the difference between the two of us still seems to be in my belief that we could find what we need in each other. Stupid me. Were you laughing about me, Temperance, about my crazy heart which believed that sex _and_ a deep affection could be a satisfying combination?"

His next step brought him very close to her shaking form, and she backed away.

"You know, I can do it the easy way as well. I could fulfill your urges," he spat the word at her, "right here against the wall, and then you could leave without a kiss goodbye. Is that what you want?"

One more step, and she couldn't escape anymore as her spine touched the wall. She could feel his angry breath on her face and closed her eyes to shield herself from his twisted mimic.

"Is that what you really want? Be sure, Baby because once this door is open, there is no way back."

"Booth..."

Her anger was gone; it had made room for something else. Was she afraid? No, she could never be afraid of him. She felt weak faced with his fury, but her body betrayed her with a pleasant shiver. Streams of energy ran through her core, and a warm fuzziness settled in her stomach. Booth had always protected her, treated her like someone special. Whenever Brennan had seen him angry in the past – the vein on his temple pulsation in boiling ire, his voice vibrating with tart danger, his posture like a cocked weapon ready for the lethal shot – his rage had been directed onto a suspect or somebody who had threatened her own, Brennan's, safety. Never before had she been she recipient of this unleashed intensity; never before had she considered it possible that his dark side could turn her on.

His next step brought him as close as possible and his body flush against hers. Only a few layers of clothes separated them, and his proximity heightened her arousal. Brennan tilted her head back and met his eyes with a wordless challenge. He could smell her then – his nostrils flared as his alpha male instincts kicked in – and he lost it. With an angry growl he lowered his head to her gorgeous neck and sank his teeth into her soft flesh there. His big hands captured her slim waist and pulled her hard to his pelvis. She gasped at the intensified contact and grabbed his strong, muscular biceps.

"Booth, ah...," she seemed to have lost the ability to speak coherently, which he noticed it in deep satisfaction. His teeth nibbled its way to her earlobe, grazing over the delicate flesh there.

"What do you want to say, Bones? Harder? Faster? Is that what you want?"

His words were sharp like ice, meant to hurt. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she nodded slowly. Yes, this was what she wanted and she felt ashamed and aroused at the same time. One of his hands left her waist and drew patterns over her unsettled stomach before it wandered to the soft and full curve of her breast, measuring its weight. He squeezed her boldly; his thumb brushed over the expensive lace and her sensitive peak underneath. His other hand rounded her bottom in a self-assured way and pressed her firmly into his own hardness. He circled his pelvis in slow provocation, and at her soft moan a triumphant smile spread over his face. His hand abandoned her breast and held her close as the tip of his tongue tasted the sweet flavor of her skin.

"Oh Booth."

His name was a mantra on her lips as his onslaught continued to make her dizzy, her knees weak until her legs widened involuntarily for him. Fury met lust, and the passion of the moment clouded Booth's mind, erasing all but one thought. 'Mine, mine, mine.' His lips met hers, and his hand cupped her mound under the dress. Brennan's mouth opened for a breathless whimper, and he used that moment to invade her body. His tongue searched for hers, his hand brushed her panties aside, and two fingers slid easily into her core. Booth exhaled a shuddered breath at her moist heat and the tight muscles around his fingers. He felt her nails digging into his arms, but only a negligibly small part of his brain registered the pain. All his senses were focused on his fingers inside of her, his tongue in her sweet mouth, her body in his arms. He stroked her in a long and steady rhythm, his thumb teasing her swollen nub, and he drank from her mouth with an urge close to dying of thirst. She went alive in his arms, her tongue meeting his just as greedily, and all thoughts of modesty were gone when she wrapped her leg around his hip.

She needed this; she needed him.

For a brief moment a flicker of gentleness crossed his mind – he wanted to learn her reactions, wanted to find out what gave her pleasure, wanted to whisper sweet endearments into her ear – but he pushed it aside. Now was not the time for learning or tenderness, and as he pumped into her body he put all his anger, all his passion and hurt into his thrusts. He wanted to get her out of control, make her feel the same way he felt. He wanted to punish her for being so stubborn and independent; he wanted to pleasure her for those same reasons.

Suddenly she went rigid, stilled in his arms, and he was lost in her face as waves of pleasure rolled over her body. Unfocused irises glistened in a deep blue, strong muscles gripped his hand, and her lips opened in amazement. She was so stunning, and suddenly all of his fury was gone, like washed away by her release. He was mesmerized, and his heart ached at the ethereal beauty of a post-orgasm Temperance Brennan in his arms.

-BONES-

When the explosions in her body ebbed away, she cautiously lowered her leg to the floor, and his head fell upon her shoulder in shame. What had he done? His fingers were still inside of her as regret flooded his mind. What had he done? All his speeches about making love, about two people becoming one – and he had taken her there against the wall with his heart full of anger. As if she was an unimportant fuck. As if she wasn't special. As if she did not mean everything to him. She was still fully dressed, and his own erection was pressing painfully against the zipper of his pants – a throbbing reminder of his unforgivable action. What had he done? She had been right; there was no room for love in that book of theirs. He removed his fingers from her body, rearranged her clothes with shaking hands and stepped away to give her some space.

Temperance Brennan was still high from the mind-blowing orgasm that had hit her body just a few minutes ago. Her breaths came hard and fast; her body tingled in the afterglow of ecstasy. She wanted to touch Booth so desperately, to give him the same pleasure he had given her, but when she searched his face his eyes avoided hers. A frown appeared on her forehead. Shit, something was wrong. Still, or again – like so many times before – she had no clue.

"Booth-"

He waved his hand into her general direction, trying not to look at her beautifully flushed face.

"No, please. Don't say anything. I'm so sorry, Bones. I shouldn't have done this to you."

She was lost.

"And what exactly do you think you have done to me? Because, Booth, whatever it was in your opinion, it surely felt amazing from my point of view."

He smiled sadly. It had been amazing for her. Of course it had; it was meaningless physical contact, closeness she was accustomed to, intimacy she could deal with. He flinched as he felt her warm palm between his shoulder blades, unable to deal with her sympathy – or whatever it was – right now.

"Booth, please, don't do this to yourself, don't shut me out," she pleaded, and a bitter smile that couldn't brighten his eyes crossed his mimic.

"Now you want to give me advice about shutting out? Please, Bones, this shouldn't have happened this way."

The smile, however sad it had been, died and made place for pure despair.

"I'm so sorry... Please... go..." His voice was a quiet plea, and her chest hurt at his rejection.

She turned around to leave his apartment, and the tears in her eyes went by unnoticed by him. She remembered his words from earlier that evening and realized that she would have wanted a kiss goodbye very much. She would have even liked to stay, to awake in his arms in the light of a new day. As his door closed with a final thud, he stared at his fingers, still damp from her fluids, and in his misery he did not realize that whatever it was that had just happened, it was theirs. And it could never be meaningless because they were them.


	8. The Truth in the Bottle

VIII. The Truth in the Bottle

After Temperance Brennan had left his apartment, Seeley Booth got drunk.

After she had left Seeley Booth's apartment, Temperance Brennan got drunk.

He sat in his dark living room, gulped down his Scotch and thought about the way his splendid partner had come undone in his arms.

She sat in her dark kitchen, swallowed her Tequila and remembered the fire his hands had created in her body. She could still feel his touch on her most intimate parts, and her muscles contracted at the memory.

He could still hear her moans that had filled his space not so long ago – could still smell her on his hand, unable to bring himself to clean the doughty phalanges that had come to know Temperance Brennan so intimately.

She wasn't angry anymore, though she was still in the mood to seriously slap his head – and take him into her arms afterwards. Realization hit her: She wanted this. She wanted to break apart under his touch again; she wanted him to break apart under hers. She wanted to touch his gorgeous body, his handsome face; she wanted to break the laws of physics with him. Some more Tequila.

And some more Scotch. He wanted to turn back the hands of time so desperately, to do everything differently, hell, even not to do anything in the first place. In retrospective, their former stalemate felt more alluring than this. He had wanted to kiss and touch her for such a long time, but never ever had his scenario ended with her leaving without a last kiss. He realized that he had denied her this and that he had no clue how she felt about any of it. Apart from the fact that it had been amazing for her. _Amazing_. Was it him? Had he been amazing for her? He would never know because he had made sure to send her away. 'She had probably freaked out already,' he thought.

She hadn't. Surprisingly, she felt very calm. She had relived the sensations of the past hours several times. She felt no regret that it had happened – only regret that it had happened full of anger. But then again, sex had never been her problem, just the emotional strings attached to it. She had no clue if she could have stood the intensity of slow and sweet lovemaking, but, she admitted to herself, the moment he had her pinned against the wall, she would have tried. For him. And for herself. She knew that if there was any hope for romance in her life, it had to be him – it had _always_ been him. That star-crossed night when Booth had told her he had known from the beginning, she hadn't been entirely honest because she _understood_ what he was talking about. The almost magnetic attraction between the two of them had been there right from the start. She had felt it too. Unlike every other man she had ever met, Brennan had never been able to treat Seeley Booth lightly. Therefore she hadn't slept with him that very first night. And now, six years later, her initial concerns had turned out to be justified. Booth could unsettle her like no one else. He had pushed her towards her own boundaries only for her to notice that they were wider than she thought, than she remembered. Could she really change? Or had she already? She abandoned the lemons and welcomed another shot of the burning alcohol.

He felt so bad for all the things he had said to her in her office. Once she had asked him if he would betray her as well, and he had denied the sheer possibility of it vehemently. 'Seems as if this promise wasn't worth the cheap swill we drank while I made it,' he thought bitterly. He remembered her soft and warm skin, her responsiveness... She wasn't cold. She certainly wasn't dead. He wanted her to know it, at least this he could do for her. Driving over to her apartment wasn't an option in his intoxicated state, and he didn't feel calm enough to call her. So he decided for the most unromantic way of all and pulled out his cell. His fingers stumbled clumsily over the tabs.

_You are not cold_.

The beep of her phone reached her dizzy mind, and she needed some time to apprehend his text. A slow smile tugged at her lips. 

_I know_.

Beep. 

_And you most definitely are not dead_.

Beep. 

_You made me feel very much alive_.

Beep. 

_I'm so sorry_.

Beep. 

_Me too_...

Beep. 

_I want to hug you_.

Beep. 

_I'd let you_.

-BONES-

'"Awkward" would be a very diplomatic term to describe their behavior,' Dr. Lance Sweets thought as two partners sat on his couch the next day. They made sure not to touch each other at all, and there hardly was any eye contact. Agent Booth found a spot on his knee very interesting, and Dr. Brennan was focusing her big blue eyes on the young psychologist as if he knew a miraculous way out of all this mess – whatever it was. 'No bickering, no shared antipathy for psychology, wow, I have to rethink our therapy sessions,' Sweets mused and if he hadn't been so damned happy about the latest developments in his own life, he would have felt bad for the two of them. He remembered the kiss he had witnessed, but apparently things hadn't gone as smooth for Booth and Brennan as they had for him and Daisy. He cleared his throat.

"So, anything you want to talk about?"

"No," came in unison.

"How is it being back to work?"

Agent Booth flinched uncomfortably.

"Well, there hasn't been a case with bones yet, so no Bones."

The young man contemplated his answer. Lack of bones hadn't prevented the agent to call on his Bones in the past. He felt the need to poke a little bit further.

"Are you comfortable being around Agent Booth after your year apart, Dr. Brennan?"

Said woman seemed to search for an appropriate answer.

"Comfortable implicates being accustomed to each other's company, and though I still feel deep trust in Booth based on our years of partnership, I have to confess that there are several parameters which could demand a reevaluation of our behavior."

That was blunt, even for her, and as her words had sunk in Sweets almost felt excitement.

"So something has changed."

"Maybe."

The confession was spoken in a low voice, but it didn't go by unnoticed.

"I think you two could really use a break."

At his words Agent Booth caught his eyes with flaring anger.

"No! I mean, we've been apart for a whole year, shouldn't that have been enough?"

'Interesting,' Sweets thought.

"You misunderstood. Not a break from each other. A break together. To reevaluate your relation- ahm, partnership I mean. Take a break, go away for the weekend. Talk, reconnect. I strongly recommend it as your therapist. Consider it as a kind of experiment."

"I don't know," Booth stated, but Brennan surprised him.

"Maybe he's right, Booth. Maybe we should take some time to concentrate on each other and work everything out before some remains are found which need our undivided focus."

Booth looked at his partner in astonishment. After the events of last night he had doubted that she would ever be willing to stay alone with him again.

"If you think so..."

"Booth, I really want my partner back, but I think there are some variables we have to consider first."

Sweets almost choked on his coffee at her words. Variables? What could that be?

-BONES-

They decided to go away the following weekend. He would pick her up on Friday evening and they would head to a cabin near Seneca Lake, about one hour away from D.C. Forty-eight hours alone. To talk, to reconnect, to consider variables. Booth wondered about the wisdom of that, but if his partner was willing to do that for them, he wouldn't back-pedal. He would take his chance to make things right, to be her friend again. He wished for them to come back healthy and whole. They'd catch murderers and share fries at the Diner... and their lives would return to normal.


	9. The Honesty in the Night

IX. The Honesty in the Night

They had a late start and got caught in traffic, so it wasn't until 8 pm on Friday evening that they reached the Black Hill Regional Park. They got a glimpse of Seneca Lake on their way up to the little cabin, and its surface seemed dark and smooth in the cloudy evening light.

"Oh Booth, that's beautiful."

It was almost the first thing she had said during their whole drive. He'd already begun thinking that their weekend away would turn out to be a very bad idea, but the sight of the beautiful landscape surrounding them made her visibly relax. 'Compared to the wonders of nature everything else always seems ridiculously small,' Booth mused.

"Mm-hmm," he agreed, "maybe we could go out with a boat tomorrow."

She nodded, and suddenly they had plans. Maybe they _could_ actually survive this weekend.

The cabin was small, tiny even. A room with a big fireplace and an adjoining kitchen occupied the ground floor, some wooden stairs led to the upper floor with a bathroom and two small but cozy bedrooms. Brennan made herself at home in one of the rooms and decided to change her work attire into something more comfortable. While she rummaged around in her bag, she wondered how thin the line between comfortable and awkward really was, but chose nevertheless her favorite yoga pants and a pale pink sweater. The wooden floor felt nice and warm under her feet, so she abandoned the socks for now. She was in the woods with Booth! All alone and miles away from her apartment, the lab and their friends. With a loud sigh she let herself fall on the bed.

Now what?

She had agreed to come here even before Booth had. She had babbled about variables and parameters. What was she supposed to do now? She hadn't been able to forget their intimate encounter the whole week, but she was still Temperance Brennan, the scientist, who couldn't jump head over heels into a reckless thing she didn't even believe in. She knew that whatever they'd decide, he couldn't live with something half-hearted – after all, he was Booth, the man with the unbreakable morality and a strong belief in a thing called love.

Did he love her?

He had never said those words to her. So she settled for the things he had said. To him she was special. He thought that she deserved love, and he even believed that she could return love. He had admired her looks, a few times with words and countless times with his eyes. Her favorite thing he had ever said to her must be that she wasn't a bad anything. She couldn't help smiling at the memory and the comfort his words had brought to her then. His behavior showed signs of jealousy, protectiveness and caring. And more than a year ago he had wanted to give them a shot. Was that love? And what did she feel for him? As always, those were the really hard questions, so she decided to abandon her musings for now and go search for her partner.

She found him in the kitchen. He had changed as well, wore jeans and a black shirt, and was in the middle of fixing them some sandwiches. When she entered the room, he looked up. His eyes roamed over her body, and for a second he tensed, but made a quick recovery.

"Hey, Bones, any chance you are in the mood for cooking? No? I thought so and decided to make us sandwiches. Here, I even put cucumber on yours." As if to prove it, he waved the green vegetable in the air, and she had to laugh. "Yeah, now you're laughing, but wait till you have to eat it," he joked. Brennan padded in his direction and leaned on the counter.

"I'm convinced your food will be eatable, Booth. I mean, how wrong can you go with making a sandwich?"

"Hmm, it seems a sandwich should be a very simple and easy thing." And suddenly they both wondered if they were still talking about food.

The sandwiches were perfectly eatable, and the two partners shared their meal in an almost easy atmosphere. Neither of them was in the mood for exhausting topics, so they discussed their work, the new Jeffersonian interns and Brennan's latest body from limbo. He still felt the need to say sorry for his behavior _that_ night, but he didn't know how. 'How do you apologize for the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your whole life?' he asked himself. So he decided to apologize with his actions rather than his words – by fixing her a meal, lightning up the fireplace, fetching a blanket for her cold feet. He vowed to himself to prove to her that she was special and still his best friend, and maybe some day he could forgive himself for his reckless demeanor and ask for her forgiveness as well. Maybe some day he could even forget her moans, her taste, her wild blue eyes.

As the night grew older, a fierce wind began to rage around the wooden house, and Brennan could feel the heaviness of her eyelids. She yawned and stretched out on the couch. Her struggle against sleep amused and touched him at the same time – those rare moments when she let her guard down were always so precious to him because they gave evidence of her trust in him.

"Hey, Bones, maybe we should go to bed." She cracked an eye open, and he blushed.

"I mean, you to your bed and I to mine."

"Of course, Booth, what else could you have meant?" It was her tiredness that made her tease him, she decided, but before this could continue and lead to something other than sleep and possibly more regrets, she stood up and headed in the direction of the stairs. "Night, Booth." She paused. "Thank you for the sandwich, the fire and the blanket. Thank you for being you." And gone she was.

He sighed deeply and decided to follow her into Morpheus' arms.

-BONES-

She awoke to the sound of rain on her window and a growling thunder. For a second she was back on Maluku during a sticky thunderstorm in the ruthless monsoon season. She had never told Booth about it. She wondered if he was awake as well. Slowly but with determination she left her bed and went to his door. He hadn't closed it completely, and her heart skipped a beat. A thunderbolt lightened the night, and for a second she could see him in his ruffled sheets. He was lying on his back, his chest was bare and his face peaceful. A rocking chair in the corner caught her attention, and she decided to take a seat. Just for a while. A soft snore escaped his sleeping form, and she had to giggle then. Within a heartbeat he was awake and alert.

"Bones?" His voice was slick with sleep. Hers was soft.

"You snore."

"You came into my room in the middle of the night to complain about my snoring?"

"No. The thunderstorm awoke me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you afraid?" She rolled her eyes at his typically male question.

"Booth, it's me."

"Yeah, but you, brilliant, independent and stubborn scientist lady are afraid of snakes as well."

"That's different, snakes are creepy."

After a few moments she remembered what had made her come to his room in the first place. She tugged her legs under her chin and rocked in the chair.

"Once there was a similar weather on Maluku. It started in the middle of the night, and we were unprepared for it. Some of our latest founds were simply washed away. The mud was so thick I could barely move. Those were the darkest hours I'd experienced in that whole year."

Her sharing opened his heart to her.

"Did you like it there?" She pondered his question.

"I liked my work. The team was competent, and the remains we discovered were amazing. I'm used to being alone, so I'd thought that year shouldn't be different from all the other times I've been away in the past." In the dim light she could see his eyes darken at her honest words and spoke on quickly. "But it _was_ different. I... I missed you. I don't know why or when it had happened, but suddenly it felt as if I had left my life behind."

"And it scared you," he continued, but she surprised him.

"After a few months I was way beyond that. I had that feeling," she took a deep breath and struggled to utter those unscientific words, "as if a piece of my stomach was missing and I just wanted it back. The really scary part began when I got it back. When I got you back," she added.

He just looked at her. She had opened a door for him with her candor, and he was afraid that she might slam it back into his face.

"In Afghanistan it was hot all the time. The sun burned, and everything paled. That... that photo of you for example. After some time I could barely recognize the contours of your face anymore. But," he went with honesty as well, "I didn't need it to refresh my memory." Her rocking had stopped, and she shivered in the chair.

"Oh, Booth."

"It's okay, Bones, we've made it through it, haven't we? We survived, we're back and we still have each other."

"Do we?"

"We are here." She smiled. That was scientific proof.

"Temperance, I'm so sorry about the things I said and did to you that night in my apartment." Suddenly he hadn't been able to keep those words to himself any more, but she stayed calm.

"You hurt me. But I know that I had hurt you as well. That date was a stupid idea, I didn't even enjoy it. And be sure that you could have never forced your will onto me. I could kick your ass any time." His smile was sad and full of pain.

"You're so precious to me, and I didn't treat you that way."

"Booth, you know that I'm a scientist, and I need proof before I draw a conclusion. You have proven your attitude towards me so often in the past that I actually _feel_ special when I'm with you. No matter what you do or how angry you are." And with those words he had her forgiveness, and his heart became weightless. He gave her a beaming smile that warmed her insides.

"You nearly killed me there, you know that, right?" She smiled as well.

"La petite mort, huh?"

"How do you even know that phrase?"

"You remember my best friend, don't you?" A minute of sweet silence was followed by her shivering again, and finally he noticed it.

"Are you cold?" "A little," she admitted. "I should probably go back to bed."

"Bones, will you do me a favor?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "May... may I hold you? Just for a minute."

"Booth..."

"I promise I will behave. I just want to give you some more proof of how special you are."

She had no willpower to deny him his wish, and when he moved away from the middle of his bed and folded back the blanket, she got up from her chair and came to him. She'd hesitated briefly before she accepted his offer and slid under the sheets. The bed was still warm from his body and smelled like Booth. His brown eyes sank into her blue ones, and he flashed her a smile.

"Hi, Temperance."

She laughed a little breathlessly, and with that he outstretched one arm under her head and wrapped the other one around her waist to pull her close. She melted into his side and placed her cheek on his muscular chest, directly over his heartbeat. Her legs entangled with his, and she caressed his bare shoulder with her hand. Booth lowered his head to her hair very gently, and she felt his lips on her head. He blew softly into her strands and inhaled her scent. A content sigh left his mouth, and she snuggled deeper into him. She felt warm, safe and whole. No missing pieces in her stomach, no strange feelings in her chest. Being here with him, lying in his arms in the middle of a thunderstorm felt just right. Before sleep overcame her, he kissed her forehead, and she heard his raw words.

"Don't play with me, Temperance."

She pulled him closer, tried to shoo away his doubts with soft caresses and whispered, "I won't. Please, have some more faith. I'm almost there." And then she was asleep.

Booth felt the tiredness as well, but he refused to give in. He held her tight in his arms, guarded her sleep and reveled in the feeling of her warm body against his own. Her head's weight on his arm was more than welcome, and Booth enjoyed the soft fabric of her nightgown under his fingers, detecting her even softer skin beneath it. He could feel her breaths, and from time to time she made sweet little noises in her sleep that went directly into his heart. And with that warm, perfect feeling Seeley Booth finally fell asleep together with his partner.


	10. The Light in the Morning

X. The Light in the Morning

When Temperance Brennan awoke in the morning, she felt her body pressed into something warm and solid. She experimentally tried to move, but something strong held her in place. Then her mind registered a familiar scent, and she relaxed.

She was in Booth's bed.

In his arms.

Apparently his wish to hold her for a minute had been fulfilled a lot longer than that. She didn't want to open her eyes yet; she simply wanted to enjoy the feeling of awakening in his arms a bit longer. Never in her life had she slept with another man without _sleeping_ with him. Just sleep is so intimate, so private; it makes you vulnerable. However, Brennan was surprised to recognize that she didn't feel weak this morning. It still felt right to be with him. When she finally opened her eyes, she found him already staring at her, and he smiled as he saw her join the world.

"Good morning, Beautiful."

And beautiful she was. Her hair was a mess of silk and curls, her cheeks had a soft pink glow, her eyes were still slightly unfocused from sleep, and then a grin split her face. He had to ask.

"Are you okay?"

She felt pain for bringing so many doubts and insecurities upon him with her past actions.

"I'm okay. Really. To be honest, Booth, I'm more than okay. I cannot remember the last time I slept so well. And this doesn't feel awkward."

He exhaled a breath of relief and smiled into her shoulder.

"I'm glad."

"Yes, me too."

With him, it was easy to name her own insecurities.

"Thank you for letting me hold you," he murmured.

"Believe me, it was my pleasure."

There was a brief moment of sweet eye contact – electricity tingling between them – then she yawned, stretched and Booth couldn't help to admire her slender form. But he wasn't in the mood for rushing anything – he really needed her to be sure – and therefore loosened his hold on her.

"Coffee?"

She seemed to be surprised, but deep inside she understood his behavior, and her heart opened a little bit more.

"Yes, coffee would be fine."

With one last smile he left the bed and went to brew coffee for them. She lingered for some more minutes, felt the peace wash over her, and somewhere deep inside of her more walls crumbled, fell to the ground, and boundaries widened even further. She was looking forward to the day.

When she padded into the kitchen, the irresistible smell of fresh coffee filled the air. The interior of the cabin looked warm and comfortable in the mild morning sunlight that was shining through the windows. The nature had forgotten last night's thunderstorm, but the two people in the kitchen hadn't. Booth still couldn't believe that she had come to him, that she had opened herself up to him. He wondered if he could finally allow himself to hope again, if he could trust this development in her behavior. He was still touched by her attempt at sharing.

_Have some more faith. I'm almost there_.

The promise in her words haunted him, but he was a man of faith. After all that had happened between the two of them, he could have some more of it. He poured two mugs of coffee and gave one to her with a smile. She still had a serious bed head going on, and he loved the way she looked this morning. She hadn't brushed her hair or changed her clothes yet, and this was so intimate that he felt deep joy in his heart. He allowed himself to look at her unguardedly, and she returned his stare with a calm openness.

"You're so beautiful."

She blushed, he couldn't believe it, she really blushed.

"Booth, I look as if I've just fallen out of bed. Which I have, by the way," she tried to rationalize his words, but he didn't let her.

"No, Temperance, you're beautiful just the way you are this morning."

She looked down at her feet shyly.

"Well, thank you, I think..."

Temperance Brennan was used to men calling her beautiful, but those words normally felt hollow and were spoken in the context of sexual stimulation. She had never heard them in the morning – and she had never felt so desirable in an outfit that wasn't meant to seduce at all. Now she was special _and_ beautiful. Just because of Booth. Who looked at her with an adoring smile, after she had spent the night in his arms in a non-sexual but heart-warming way. She sighed.

"Booth, you may be the nicest men I've ever met."

He winked at her. "Just may be?"

-BONES-

It was almost noon when they had found a little paddle boat and made their way to the lake. Booth surprised her by taking fishing equipment with him. She was a vegetarian and she disliked animal farms or killing for pleasure, but she had a pragmatic attitude towards killing her own food – she even had a hunting license for cases like that. The boat resembled an unreliable nutshell but was surprisingly heavy as they carried it towards the little landing stage. Booth set the vessel carefully onto the water, and after embarking it he reached out his hand to her.

"Come on, Bones, it's a little bit unsteady."

"It's a boat, Booth, what did you expect?"

Nevertheless, she grabbed his hand and made it on board without any accident. When they were both safely seated, he reached for the paddles and began dividing the water at a steady pace.

"Can I call you Starbuck now?"

She laughed with childlike joy.

"I know what that means, and unless you show me a wooden leg or a big white whale, you can call me Bones as usual."

'Which is only half true,' she thought, since he had called her by her given name several times during the last weeks. Apparently his mind took a similar track.

"I like 'Temperance'," he finally admitted. "I mean, you're still my Bones, but sometimes when I look at you, and you are all strong and soft at the same time, you look like Temperance."

"Or when you're angry at me," she added in a whisper. Booth regarded her with a serious expression.

"Would it make any sense if I assured you that my words of anger had the same source than all the other things I have ever said to you?"

She understood him and nodded.

"Yes, it would." After a few moments she added, "Do you want me to call you 'Seeley'?"

He seemed to weigh his answer.

"Not really. Seeley was a little boy I left behind a long time ago. The name doesn't remind me of bad things anymore, but you've always called me Booth, and I like it."

"I like it too. Now that I think of it, 'Shoes' really would have been a bad name for you."

He laughed. "Wow, five years at my side, and finally this realization hits you?"

"I could call you 'Cocky'," she teased.

"Don't you dare, or my fantasy will come up with a few more names for you."

Although she wondered which names he could have in mind, she decided to drop the topic and let her eyes wander over the scenery surrounding them. A bird flew in close distance, from time to time diving into the water, perhaps in search of a meal. It looked so pristine and free, and Brennan wondered how a life like this must be – no contemplating, just dealing and feeling... The bank was several yards away now, and Booth stopped paddling. He pointed at the fishing rod.

"You wanna give it a try and catch our dinner?"

"Sure."

-BONES-

Fishing was peaceful, boring almost, and after a long time of nothingness, his eyelids closed. It was the second time she'd seen him asleep in twenty-four hours, and she wondered if last night had been as relaxing for him as it had been for her. Maybe she could come up with an excuse to spend this night in his arms as well? She wondered if she needed one and if she had the right to simply ask for it. She remembered the bird she had observed earlier, admiring its carefreeness, and tried to give it a shot.

"Booth?"

"Hmm?" he offered a sleepy reply.

"Do," she paused one more time, "do you think I could sleep in your bed again tonight?"

A streak of delight hit him, but nevertheless he tried to hide his commotion.

"Always, Temperance, always. You don't have to ask."

She sighed. "Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"Your arms are a very nice place to be."

Booth smiled. He wanted to pull her in said arms right now, kiss her with everything he was, but he was afraid to go too far. He couldn't risk overwhelming her again. Her girly squeal saved him.

"A fish!"

He opened his eyes and saw a tug at the fishing line.

"Yeah, show me what you're worth, Bones."

It was a challenge, and she never could resist a challenge. Within moments a slippery, silver fish fidgeted at the bottom of their boat.

"A fish, Booth, I caught us a fish!"

Without thinking she jumped to her feet in excitement, and the sudden movement brought the boat out of balance. Before Booth could say her name, he heard a loud splash, and she disappeared overboard. He followed her unwillingly as the boat violently shook and turned over. The water was cold, extremely cold, and with his eyes still closed from the impact, he felt a heavy body clinging onto his own. He looked at his partner – wet to the bone – half angry, half amused.

"Congratulations, Bones."

"I have to rethink my last statement. Maybe the fish caught _us_." She frowned.

"Bones, can you swim?"

"Don't be stupid, Booth, of course I can swim."

"Why aren't you doing it then?" He smirked.

"There was something slippery at my leg," she stated.

He couldn't resist. "Something slippery, huh? Maybe a water snake?"

"You're mean."

"And you're drowning us."

"No, I'm not," she refused to let go of him.

Booth looked at her formerly soft hair, now sticking to her scalp, water drops on her cheeks, an indignant expression on her face, and he couldn't suppress a laugh.

"You're cute."

"No, I'm not."

"I think at the moment you're not in a position to decide that."

She looked at him. "I'm sorry I made us fall into the water. My excitement about the fishing success made me forget the changed gravity parameter on a boat."

Now he laughed even louder.

"Still cute."

Before she could protest again he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her. His lips were cold and soft as he carefully caressed hers with them. She felt turmoil in her stomach – maybe those were the famous butterflies, she wondered – and relaxed into the kiss. When she opened her mouth for him, his tongue was welcomed by her own. His slow strokes elicited a moan from her throat and opened her to his caresses even further. Unlike their former kisses, this one was almost painfully slow, and it triggered a deep longing inside of her...

Booth felt as if he was drowning again, drowning in the soft, sweet mouth of his partner. Finally, they gave in to the need for oxygen and parted. Their eyes found each other, and she saw depth in his that made her shiver.

"I'm still sorry, Booth. That we fell into the water and for everything else."

He touched her cheek gently and kissed her nose.

"Bones, I'd rather be with you in this cold water than with anyone else in a warm and cozy place."

She almost jumped back into his arms, at least as much as you can jump in the middle of a lake, and he pulled her close.

"I'm here. I'll always be... but, Temperance, a change of scenery would be nice. Any idea in that brilliant brain of yours how we can get ourselves out of this compromising position?"

Reluctantly she raised her head from his shoulder and regarded the boat.

"With the added gravitational force of the water it should be impossible to turn the boat over again. I suppose we have to swim and pull it with us, but at least the buoyancy of the lake will work in our favor here."

Booth measured the distance to the dry banks.

"Somehow I dislike your plan, but I don't see any other alternative."

-BONES-

The managed their way back with little dignity, but finally the two people and the overturned boat found themselves on solid ground again. The couple was breathing heavily, and their jeans felt like tons of weight on their wet bodies. Brennan flopped to the grass, and Booth let himself fall next to her.

"That was totally your fault," he panted.

"I'm sorry, Booth. Really, I am."

He regarded her with a serious expression. "Oh no, that's not enough, you need to be punished."

She was alert, but not fast enough, and he started to tickle her mercilessly. When her giggling reached a desperate tone, his fingers stopped their teasing and began drawing lazy patterns over her flat stomach. She seemed happy, he thought, her smile reminded him of the sunshine, and with an equal smile of his own he pulled her close one more time, and his lips found hers. He softly grazed her lower lips with his teeth before entering her mouth and losing himself in the sweetness of kissing her once again. It didn't take long before the sweet contact grew more passionate and full of heat. Booth rolled on top of her, and she could feel his solid torso almost crushing her, but she welcomed his weight. It felt real. His hips nestled between her thighs naturally, and he peppered her face with open-mouthed kisses.

"You taste like heaven, Bones."

"More like lake, don't you think?"

"Now that you've mentioned it, the flavor of algae is indeed very outstanding. And the smell of fish only heightens your attraction."

"Shut up, you won."

And she deepened the kiss again. She felt him reach a part deep inside of her, a part she had never known existed. Temperance Brennan still couldn't find the right words for it, but at this moment she knew that she would do everything in her power to keep him safe, make him smile and his eyes shine with happiness.

"I never want you to kiss anyone else like this again, Booth."

It had left her mouth before she could think, and her own words surprised her. He looked at her in astonishment, but chose not to push her.

"I promise."

She felt relieved, although her logical mind didn't fail to remind her that he couldn't possibly promise something like that – but somehow his words were enough to assure the part of her speaking louder than her brain at the moment. Was that her heart? And was her irrational demand spoken out of jealousy? Suddenly, she felt dizzy and slightly overwhelmed by the events of the last hour. What did that mean? Booth was still lying on top of his partner and saw her wavering. He felt a sudden rush of panic at her facial expression and decided to give her some space. When he rolled away from her, he was reminded of his soaked clothes.

"Hey Bones, maybe we should go back and get dry, what do you think?"

"I think pneumonia would be a very unpleasant experience, especially it being my fault we fell into the water, and, ergo, making your illness my fault as well."

"Let's go, then."

On their way back she sensed his attempt to create some distance and wondered if it was for her comfort or his own. Brennan looked at the handsome man walking beside her, his wet hair dripping onto his shoulders and his lips still slightly swollen. 'That was me,' she thought, and a wave of possessiveness rolled trough her body. She knew that he couldn't take much more of her habit to back away whenever he got too close to her, that she could possibly lose him with the next wrong move, as well as she knew that she couldn't risk that happening. He was too important...

Booth himself was torn. Part of him was bathing in the afterglow of kissing Temperance Brennan and the way she had responded to his touch. Another part chastised him for making the first move again. He briefly considered if pushing her might not be so bad if she was almost there, if he could actually help her with the last steps, but he really hated the part where her brain inevitably kicked in and she got scared. 'Something has to change,' he thought, 'and this time it has to be her decision.'

-BONES-

By the time they reached the cabin, Brennan was absolutely freezing in her wet clothes. The weather was rather mild, but with every wind gust she felt shivers ripple through her body, and she gladly welcomed the shelter of their temporary home. She desperately needed two things: process everything and get warm – not necessarily in that order.

"Booth, do you mind if I take a bath?"

"Of course not, make yourself comfortable."

His words were spoken with his back to her as he knelt in front of the fireplace. He was still dripping wet, and her actions may have been bare of logic, but she had to take the blanket from last night and cover his shoulders with it very carefully. Her hand touched his face in the progress, and he looked at her in surprise.

"Thanks, Bones, but that'll be soaked in a minute."

"I know." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly and chewed her lip. "You need some help here?"

"Ranger, remember? I can make a fire. Enjoy your bath, and when you're ready, everything will be nice and warm."

She didn't miss the double entendre and hung her head in rejection. Her next words were barely audible.

"I'm sorry for making this so hard for you."

Booth slowly abandoned the wood, took her hand and caressed her palm with his cheek. His voice was rough.

"It'll be worth it."

"How can you know that?"

"If you only feel half of the things I feel when you're kissing me, it's proof enough."

"Booth, I feel it," she whispered, "but how do you know if I can change enough to be that person for you, to make you happy?"

He looked into her blue eyes and found vulnerability there that crushed his heart.

"You already are. I never wanted you to change, just to accept that."

'And what if you find out that I cannot give enough?' Her question was unspoken, but he sensed her insecurities.

"I know who you are. I don't place you on a pedestal and I don't want an idealistic version of you. All I've ever wanted is you, just the way you are. Whenever you're ready, I'll be there to catch you. The rest of it we can figure out together."

He kissed her palm.

"But Temperance, please promise me one thing."

He hesitated and waited for her approval to continue. When she slowly nodded, he added, "When you decide you're ready, you have to be sure you really are. You can hurt me just as much as I could ever hurt you. I'm all in, and if I lose my ante this time, I'll have nothing left to give."

Although Brennan didn't know that poker metaphor, she understood what Booth tried to say.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you."

He gave her a weak smile.

"You never saw yourself in an interrogation room through a one-way mirror, and I bet you have no idea that the little frown appears on your forehead every time you focus on some old bones. You make darling noises in your sleep. When you laugh, everything else in the room gets quiet. You cooked Mac and Cheese for me. My kid loves you, even though he doesn't understand you half the time. Everything you already are is enough. Please, don't put me on a pedestal either. That's not the place I wanna be for you."

He spoke with an intensity that took her breath away. Nobody had ever looked at her the way he did. She felt the urge to fall into his arms, but he needed her to be sure.

"Thanks, Booth. I'm really trying," she offered.

"I know, Bones. I can feel you thinking," he smiled at her. "What are you thinking right now?"

She went with honesty. "I have to process everything I feel. Nobody has ever said things like that to me and it's... huge. I want to hug you, but you need more."

His heart was big enough to take another risk, and he reached out his arms to her.

"Come here."

And with his permission she fell onto her knees and pressed her face into his shoulder. Booth gently rocked her back and forth and whispered soothing words to calm her inner trouble.

"I have so much faith in you, Temperance. I'm right here, don't be afraid. It's okay."

"Booth, this has never been a guy hug, right?"

He smiled at her talent to state the obvious and placed a kiss on her wet hair.

"If this was a guy hug I'd be gay and I really don't see that coming."

She chuckled softly.

"I'm glad."

"You are?"

"I've come to the conclusion that I have faith in your faith in me, and although, anthropologically speaking, homosexuality is pretty normal, I'm really glad that it won't interfere with our future actions."

"So you think our future actions might have something to do with sexuality?" he couldn't help teasing her.

"Booth, don't make fun at me, I'm not good at this. I bet a celibate relationship isn't what you have in mind, either."

"He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him one more time. "No, my dear. I want to make love to you. In every way a dictionary would describe it."

He felt her shiver at his words, and it reminded him of their still wet attire. He kissed her forehead gently and released her.

"Take your bath, Temperance, and take your time. Whenever you're ready, everything will be nice and warm."

This time there was no double entendre in his words.


	11. The Step in a new Direction

XI. The Step in a new Direction

The sound of the rushing water filled the air, and lavender scent soared out of the tub. While Temperance Brennan peeled herself out of her wet clothes and lowered her body into the promising warmth, her mind was in overdrive. She had faith in Booth, as much faith as one human being could possibly have in another one. He understood people. He never failed to see things she was oblivious to. And Booth had faith in her. He wanted her; he believed that she was the one to make him happy. Her rational conclusion had to be trusting him with this as well. So if he was convinced about giving this a try, logically she should follow his instincts. The hard part and the unknown variable X in this equation still were her own feelings.

What did she feel?

When he kissed her, she felt whole and happy. When he touched her, she longed for more. She felt safe and jealous and out of control. Was she willing to lose or leave him? Definitely not. She wanted to spend the nights in his arms and wake up to his smiling face. She thought of his words, how everything else silenced for him when she laughed – she knew that feeling. The countless times she had watched _him_ through a one-way mirror crossed her mind as well. Every time his hand touched the small of her back, a feeling of belonging rushed through her body...

Brennan held her breath and plunged under the surface. She wasn't a coward, and there, completely surrounded and shielded by the scented water, she finally made up her mind.

Meanwhile in the living room Booth had started a cozy fire, and his wet clothes plus the blanket were spread out on the floor. He had changed into comfortable grey sweatpants and a white tee; his hair was drying naturally. All the while he tried not to think of his partner and the feeling of kissing her. Covering him with that blanket was so uncharacteristically illogical for her, but so sweet at the same time. He really wished she could allow herself to trust her heart. Now that he had gotten some glimpses of her emotional side, he couldn't wait to take in the whole picture. Laughing, smiling Temperance Brennan, living happily ever after at his side.

'_Okay_, apparently not thinking of her went as well as always,' he thought and plopped himself into the cushions of the sofa. This woman will be his downfall or his biggest luck. He heard her steps on the stairs before he saw her, and Booth prepared himself for facing Brennan. When he looked up, her natural beauty took his breath away one more time. She wore a silky blue robe, her hair in a loose ponytail, but then his eyes fell to her feet, and he had to chuckle. The thick polka dotted socks she was wearing only heightened her cuteness factor. "Bones, you look like a goddess, but your socks kind of ruin the picture." She frowned and looked down at her body.

"My feet were cold, Booth. Pneumonia, remember?"

He laughed softly. "Even if I endanger myself, I have to repeat how cute you are."

Brennan took a step in her partner's direction and whispered, "And I may endanger myself as well, but it might be that I _want_ you to think I am cute."

Booth crossed his arms in front of his chest, and his whole body language turned cautious at her words. She didn't miss his attempt of self-protection and for a second she felt hurt at the irrational feeling that he could reject her, but then she remembered their earlier conversation and everything before it.

"Booth," a deep breath, "I am sure."

Their eyes locked, and his voice was low as well.

"Prove it. I'm sorry, but I need to know."

She understood and began approaching him.

"I never meant to hurt you, but the result was that you ended up hurt even worse. Booth, I'm so sorry. I'm going all in with you. I promise I won't back out and if I get scared again, I'll tell you so that you can help me."

With her last words she stood in front of his sitting form and tentatively reached out her hand to touch his hair. Booth took in a shuddered breath and carefully rested his forehead on the silky fabric over her stomach while she continued to caress his head.

"Booth... I've never done this and I've never felt like this before. Sometimes it's so overwhelming that I can barely breathe. You have to help me, you have to show me how to do this right. I don't know if I can make it alone. When I'm about to do something very stupid, you have to tell me because I don't want to lose you. You're too important to me."

Her voice sounded vulnerable but sincere, and Booth slowly encircled her waist with his arms.

"You just decided that in the tub? I should run you a bath more often," he murmured into her belly.

"So you still want me?"

Booth looked up at her and found a disarming smile on her face.

"Are you kidding me?"

He leaned backwards, opened his arms for her, and she crawled onto his lap, melting perfectly into his body. They lay still for a moment, just holding each other, and then Brennan placed a kiss on his temple and continued her earlier caresses.

"Booth, I know you're strong, and even though I've just admitted that I might need your help from time to time, it doesn't mean I am willing to be the weak part in this. We're equal. Sometimes you have to let me hold you and catch you as well. Not literally of course," she added matter-of-factly.

This time Booth didn't use the opportunity to tease her but simply accepted her words. "I think we have to learn together then, Temperance."

He gave her a warming smile, and she traced his lips with her fingertips; they felt like soft petals. She wanted to kiss him and realized with sudden joy that she was probably allowed to do it.

"Just to be sure, Booth, I can kiss you now, right?"

"Always."

So she did. Her dainty hands enfolded his handsome face, and Brennan brushed her expectant lips over Booth's stubbly cheek before they finally reached his waiting mouth. The combination of rough facial hair and smooth skin created a pleasant stir in her stomach. His lips parted at her touch, and her tongue made contact with his, stroking it lovingly. Booth wanted to grab her and kiss her senselessly, but he remembered her words about equality. He still couldn't believe that she had come to him – that she had finally found her way into his arms – and he surrendered himself to her rhythm. He met her stroke for stroke and gently sucked at her lower lip as his hands roamed over her delicate back. The texture of the silky robe felt almost rough under his fingertips, but his palms slid effortlessly all the way from her gorgeous neck down her spine and back. He could feel the smooth skin of her thighs where his shirt had ridden up and sunk into the cushions even further, taking her with him. With a last caress she released his swollen lips and pressed her porcelain cheek into his.

"That was nice."

'I love you,' Booth wanted to say, but he bit his lip to keep the dangerous words inside. He had known about his feelings for a long time; he had known he would die for her, kill for her, but he realized that even he had underestimated how much he really cared for her. Until now. A wave of protectiveness, possessiveness and warmth rushed through his body – so deep and strong that even the concept of love sounded too weak to describe it. Booth wasn't a man of tears, but right now he felt a knot in his throat, and his eyes got wet. He pulled her close and almost crushed her neat frame with his forceful embrace.

"I need you so much, Temperance, please don't ever change your mind."

His voice sounded raw, and she freed herself to look into his eyes. What she found there melted her heart. "Oh Booth," she placed her palm over his heartbeat.

"I'm here to catch you, remember?"

He couldn't find any words – and then _she_ hugged _him_, tried to reassure him with the weight of her body on his own.

"I won't go away, and even though it is illogical and impossible to promise, I feel that I won't change my mind."

He found her lips and this time he kissed her with a hunger as raw as his feelings. Brennan met him again, solid and strong in his arms. 'I have you,' she thought before he took her breath away one more time. Soft moans turned into winded groans, the rustling of silk mingled with the cracks of the dry wood in the fireplace, and the little cabin filled with warmth.

When they looked at each other again, her ponytail was just a shadow of its former self. The tie of her robe had loosened, and Booth could see the uncovered curve of her white shoulder. She looked so fair, so beautiful, and he felt a desire to run his fingers through her shimmering tresses. Carefully he removed her hair tie, letting the auburn mass fell down. He looked at her in awe, brushed a curl out of her face and let his fingers float through the silky strands, all the way up and down. When he made contact with her scalp, he started to massage it gently, and Brennan closed her eyes. She arched into his touch, a rapturous smile enchanted her face, and her lips parted in a content sigh.

She almost sat upright now, and the picture of her straddling his lap – shadows of her long lashes on her rosy cheeks – reminded him of the eroticism of a Greek marble statue. Booth raised his body from the cushions and brought his lips to her collar bone, gently nibbling on the soft flesh there. He felt her arms wrap around his shoulders as she tried to support his sitting position, and he was delighted to find out that she wanted this as much as he did. Slowly he ran his tongue from her collarbone to her throat and along her jaw line. She smelled like lavender and something that was simply _her_ – for him it was the scent of heaven. She tasted salty and sweet at the same time. He softly bit into her earlobe, and when he cradled her neck with his big hands, the robe revealed more of her gorgeous shoulders. More milky white skin for him to taste and fondle, more Bones for him to revel in. He searched her eyes, seeking permission, and found her smiling.

"Oh, Bones, you are so beautiful."

This time she didn't blush, but she felt the need to correct him.

"No, Booth, _this_ is beautiful."

With her acceptance Booth resumed his worshipping of her body and placed his lips on her throat once again. This time he traveled further down to her sternum, placed a kiss over her heart and felt its beat under his sensitive tongue. His fingers caressed the soft hair on her neck and wandered to her shoulders, gently brushing the silky fabric away. When the robe slid down her arms and revealed her breasts for the first time, both stilled. Booth took in the sight of her bare chest; round, soft and pale with a slight glow of pink. All the time Brennan watched her partner, and if his glance hadn't been so full of pure admiration, she would have felt self-conscious under its intensity.

"Oh, Temperance," he finally sighed, "this is exactly what I wanted to do last time," and with this words he lowered his mouth to her nipple and started to lick and suck her very gently. His actions met her by surprise – a loud gasp left her mouth as a rush of electricity shot from her breast directly to her core, and she could feel wetness gathering between her legs. 'He is good at this,' she thought as she fought against the dizziness. Slowly but determined she tugged at his head and forced him to look at her.

"Equals, remember?"

He gave her an understanding look and raised his arms so that she could pull of his tee. He was so muscular, so strong, and now it was her turn to stare in admiration. Her eyes found the scar where he had taken a bullet for her, and something pulled at her heart. She brought her lips to this place next to his shoulder and kissed the silvery, renewed skin there.

"Don't do that ever again, Booth, how could I possibly live with the knowledge that you died for me?"

He would do it again, in a heartbeat, but he didn't want to upset her and just nodded. She ran her fingers from his chest to his ribcage, all the time smooth skin under her digits, and with a last thought of equality her lips closed over his dark nipple. It hardened instantly under her demanding mouth, and he groaned with delight. She teased him until he couldn't take it anymore, and soon she was flipped around on the couch. She was beneath him now, and her legs opened immediately for his hips, giving him better access. Booth gently removed the robe from her lower arms; his palms roamed from her shoulders to her wrists, and he linked his fingers with hers.

"Are you in this with me, Temperance?"

Her bright blue eyes answered his question even before she spoke.

"I'm here, Booth, I'm really and truly here."

"Do you know what's happening?"

"I know."

"Good."

He leaned in for another kiss, full of promise and passion. His hands released hers and wandered to her hips, where he gently held her in place as he rocked against her for the first time. She felt his masculinity and body heat through the remaining layer of clothes, and the brush of the fabric heightened her arousal even further. She squirmed under his movement and wanted to get closer to him.

Booth loved this. He loved kissing her, touching her; he loved how her skin felt under his fingers. She was so amazingly responsive, so open, and he fought against the aching hardness in his body which screamed for release. He wanted to do this right; he wanted to enjoy her as long as he could. When the need for air became impossible to ignore, he released her lips, took a deep breath and started to lick and explore her body once again. He traveled down until he knelt on the floor between her legs, and her soft stomach was under his mouth. His tongue dipped into her navel – which elicited a moan from her throat and made her hips buckle – and he released the ties of her robe until she lay in front of him in nothing more than black panties and her funny socks. With a low chuckle he removed the latter to free her feet. He wanted to memorize that picture of her for eternity, so he took his time to study her almost naked body. Her beautiful breasts were quaking under her unsteady breaths, the muscles of her stomach were tense in anticipation, and he could spot dampness between her legs that filled him with primitive pride. _He had done this to her. _Booth traced the hem of her underwear with his thumbs and places soft kisses on the insides of her thighs.

"I love this, Temperance," he admitted, "and you were right. This is beautiful, but believe me, so are you."

He brushed a finger over the lace of her panties, and she shivered under his touch.

"You are the most stunning woman I've ever seen in my life. You drive me crazy."

He could smell her arousal, and the alpha male inside of him wanted to take her, bury himself deep inside her. Booth resisted the temptation and placed a kiss on her underwear, directly over her most sensitive part. She almost whimpered. It was his undoing, and he sucked her hard through the black fabric.

"Booth," she tried to form coherent words as her body trembled, "please, you don't have to do this."

He soothed his onslaught with a soft blow of cool air.

"I want to. Please, Baby, let me do this. I need to know how you taste."

He tried to pour his soul into his eyes. She nodded weakly before her head fell back into the cushions, and Temperance Brennan, woman of science and control, finally offered herself to her partner.

He gently pulled her underwear down her legs, and then she was naked; gloriously naked. She looked so fragile, and Booth was deeply touched as he reached upwards again. He brushed his fingertip over her lips – she briefly caught it with her tongue – and let his palm rub from her chest to her center in one strong motion. Then he was back between her knees, inhaled her scent deeply, and his mouth closed over her. She panted, and his hands captured her sides to steady her restless hips. His tongue ran over her in sensual strokes – eager to taste her, eager to touch her as intimately as possible, eager to make Temperance Brennan forget her name. He drew a horizontal eight over her sensitive flesh - 'Infinity, Baby,' he thought – all the time avoiding the one part where she yearned for his touch the most. She arched her back to get closer to him, and finally his lips found the little nub that burned like fire. He kissed, licked and sucked her until she could barely take it anymore, and her moans turned into pleas for him to stop. His own erection was throbbing painfully as he moved back on top of her – never before had pleasuring a woman aroused him so deeply. She was breathless, her eyes wild, and he gently cupped her cheek.

"Is everything okay, Temperance, did I do something wrong? Do you," he swallowed with worry, "do you want me to stop? You know, we don't have to do this now, it's all right."

Booth tried to fix whatever was wrong, but Brennan shook her head vigorously.

"Yes, no. Ah, Booth, too many questions. I'm fine, that was," she breathed, "unbelievably so, but I really want you inside me now, please?"

"Oh, Baby..."

He kissed her; she could taste herself on his lips, and the intimacy of that filled her with profound longing. She reached down, squeezed him through his pants, and his body reacted with a thrust before he could think. He groaned and bit into her shoulder.

"If you don't stop this, it could take a while until I can fulfill your wish, Temperance."

She smiled seductively. "I'm an anthropologist, Booth, I know how much you can take, trust me," and with one last squeeze she added teasingly, "Baby."

"Somehow I knew you wouldn't like that name, but," 'two can play the game,' he thought, as he pressed a finger into her overheated flesh, "it took you some time to get used to 'Bones' as well. Baby."

He gasped as he felt her fingernails run over his shaft, and in response his thumb brushed over her clit.

"Truce?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and together they made quick work of his remaining clothes. Then she saw him for the first time. It didn't surprise her that this part of his body was just like the rest of Booth: strong, solid and smooth. She let her fingers slide over his velvet heat – luxuriated in the firm softness – and he groaned almost desperately. His eyes searched hers, and she nodded.

"Yes. And don't worry, I am safe. I trust you."

She opened her legs even wider for him and welcomed his body on top of her. He nestled into her, and both gasped at the first contact. Booth took her face in his hand, locked his eyes with hers – and the earth stilled as he entered her in one long motion. Heat pulsated deep inside of her as her body enveloped his masculinity in an embrace known by men and women since the beginning of time. It felt so good, so right that her lids almost closed at the overwhelming sensation of him finally inside of her, and Brennan had to force herself to maintain eye contact. She saw him struggling with his own emotions, and the affection on his face touched her deeply. 'This is how making love feels,' she thought, and finally she understood her partner. He had to kiss her, and when he was sure that she had adjusted to his size, he slowly began to move. 'I'm making love to Temperance Brennan,' he wondered in awe before every coherent notion left his mind. She felt wonderful, and he wanted to bury himself in her welcoming warmth forever. With every stroke her inner walls were squeezing him, and her hands came around his back to pull him even deeper inside her body. He kissed her in unison with his strokes, and Brennan could feel the tension building in her stomach.

"Oh, Booth."

"Yes," he gasped, "I know."

He moved too carefully; she didn't want him to hold back.

"Let it go, Booth, I want this. I promise I won't break or run."

He moaned helplessly at her words, grabbed her hips and started to pump into her without finesse. Her head rolled from side to side, offering creamy white skin to him. When Booth's teeth sank into her neck, every nerve ending in her body screamed for more. She wrapped her legs around his back, and he was able to thrust stronger. More warmth, more friction, more Brennan. In rapture close to frenzy he found her mouth again, challenged her tongue and claimed her as his. Booth knew that he couldn't last much longer and prayed that she was close as well. He supported most of his weight on his elbows and brought his arms under her back to pull her close. Her gorgeous breasts were in reach to his lips now, and he sucked one hard nipple into his mouth as he continued to fill her with his thrusts. The added stimulation made her shiver violently – and suddenly she saw stars as wave over wave of the sweetest ecstasy rolled through her body. Brennan almost cried, and her inner muscles pulled him deeper and deeper until she couldn't tell anymore where she ended and he began. Booth was lost, his eyes turned black, and for the first time his body found release inside his partner. He clang to her for dear life, gave everything he had to give before he collapsed with a final thrust on top of her. Brennan embraced him with trembling legs and wobbly arms, reluctant to let go, and they breathed heavily as silence settled over them.

-BONES-

For maybe the first time in her adult life Temperance Brennan was speechless. Never before had she felt such a close connection to another person. She looked at Booth's head, resting peacefully on her chest, and wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead. Her gesture was full of awe, full of the sweet familiarity of newfound lovers; she felt an emotion running through her body so pure and warm, and suddenly she could name it.

She just _knew_.

He opened his eyes to look at her, and she smiled languorously at her partner.

"Hi, Booth."

"Hi, Bones," he beamed back at her.

"Am I crushing you?"

"A little," she admitted," but I like it. Please stay."

She wanted to hold onto that perfect moment just a little bit longer, and apparently he felt the same way because at her words he snuggled back between her breasts.

"Did we break the laws of physics?"

She remembered his words, spoken so long ago, and how impossible that experience had seemed to her then. It still made no sense, but she could understand him now and answered without hesitation, "We did."

Booth was empty and full at the same time. He could feel himself shrink inside of her, but he refused to leave her body right now. From time to time her muscles contracted in the afterglow of their union, and he could feel her wetness which was now his own as well. He believed in making love – always had – but never before a sexual act had been this precious to him. It was her, he thought. It had to be special because _she_ was. He didn't feel the need to be strong right now, and as he was lying there on her warm body, in her perfect embrace, it felt as if she was his anchor.

It was just like she had said: He had caught her, and she had caught him.

Just like that they had become one.


	12. The Illogicality in the Gift

XII. The Illogicality in the Gift

Long after their bodies had cooled, two people were snuggling on a couch in a little cabin somewhere near Seneca Lake. As the first goose bumps had appeared on Brennan's skin, Booth had reached for the now dry blanket and covered them. Her head lay on his shoulder, and he held her safely in his arms. From time to time he placed a little kiss on her temple, and she always thanked him with a sweet smile. He was allowed to touch her now, and his hands caressed her back as if he wanted to catalog her skin. In his opinion this was the best day ever.

Temperance Brennan had never been patient enough for pillow talk or post-coital cuddling, but this time she felt as if she could not get enough of his hands on her back or this embrace. Her body ached in a pleasant way, and she felt like a newborn. She turned her head to kiss him on that small spot between his jaw and his ear where he liked it and inhaled his musky scent. Brennan loved her newfound knowledge of her partner's body. She had tried to memorize his reactions to her touches and had filed away the ones to have elicited the loudest moans for further use. She had loved his male hardness when his body had been lying on top of her, his skin perfectly soft under her fingertips at the same time. She loved the idea that he was so strong but would never use it against her.

She loved... _him_.

Now that she knew that, everything made sense. He hadn't said those words to her so far, nor was she ready to share her newest discovery with him yet, but she was truly happy. At the moment she could only hope and assume that he loved her back – it was her own love for him that made her happy, she realized.

"Are you hungry?"

She wasn't ready to part with him yet.

"No."

The same moment she answered him her stomach betrayed her words with a loud growl, and he chuckled.

"I wish we still had that fish," he murmured into her hair.

"I'm glad the fish is still alive," she answered. "After all, it helped us."

"Hmm, I don't know, Bones. I think we could have made it on our own as well. I think there are a million possible scenarios which could have led us to this point."

"We've crossed that line, haven't we?"

He thought of his words, spoken so long ago that it felt like another lifetime.

"Yes, we're on the other side now. The _greener_ side, Bones."

'The grass always seems greener on the other side,' he thought, but sometimes it turns out that it actually _is –_ even without glorifying anything – and that there are some lines that _should_ be crossed. For six years he had dreamed of the green on the other side, but now he realized that his dreams had been nothing compared to the real thing. Loving, touching, kissing Temperance Brennan.

"Booth... You know that I don't know what that means."

"I know," he smiled, "but believe me, it's the good side, somewhere everybody wants to be."

"So, the hardest part is over?"

"There are other hard parts out there waiting for us. I will yell at you because you cross a street without looking first. You will get mad when I blame gravity for my untidiness again. This new intimacy might add to my protective behavior and you'd feel the need to punch me during a case. But," he pulled her close, "after all of that we can go home, have make-up sex, and I'll hold you in my arms all night."

"Or I'll hold you," she felt the need to say.

"You want to eat now, Temperance? We still have all those strange vegetables you brought with us."

"Do we have to get up for it?"

"I'm afraid that might be necessary, Baby."

He sensed her protest and put his hand over her mouth before she could speak.

"I know that you are not an infant and I don't want to implicate that you are weak. You're my girl, and it's just a term of endearment I use to emphasize that fact. Take it, Temperance."

So she swallowed her reply and took it, like that first "guy hug" so long ago.

-BONES-

Her "strange vegetables" qualified themselves for a very reasonable curry, and even Booth didn't complain about the lack of meat. A bottle of deep red wine accompanied their meal. They ate in peaceful silence; Booth wore only his pants, and Brennan had the blanket wrapped around her naked body. Booth was very pleased with her lack of modesty and stole a piece of corn from her plate.

"Why do we order take-out so often when you can cook like that, Bones?"

"My time is highly valuable, and I don't like wasting it on cooking," was her dry reply.

"That's unfortunate because I plan on wasting a lot of your time when we're back in D.C. At least," his eyes darkened with sudden fear," if you want it. You want it, right? A monogamous relationship with me, even when we're back in the real world?"

She looked at him, surprised that he could still doubt her intentions.

"Booth, I meant it when I said I'm all in with you. I want the green side, whatever that means. You can waste as much of my time as it pleases you." She hesitated briefly.

"I'm all yours. And I know that this is a stupid phrase because one person could not possibly be in the possession of another one, at least not in this century, and even in former times the whole concept was highly questionable, but still... I'm yours."

He just looked at her, stood up very slowly and rounded the table. When he reached her side, Booth fell to his knees and buried his head in Brennan's lap.

"I take it," he simply said.

And so Temperance Brennan, world renowned anthropologist and bestselling author, learned the important lesson of how an impossible gift could turn into a real and heart-warming commitment.

"I want to take you to bed and make love to you all night," he added.

She smiled at his words. "What's holding you back?"

So he scooped her up in his arms, carried her to her bedroom on the upper floor and did as promised. All night long.

-BONES-

Temperance Brennan awoke at dawn. She felt sweet soreness in her body that hadn't been there for a long time, and the events of the night came back to her. His burning kisses and soft whispers; the sensations which had run through her core so many times. Booth was lying behind her, his body spooned to her own, his arm wrapped around her waist. She felt his steady breaths on her neck and assumed that he was still asleep. His discomfort about sexual topics had always led her to the conclusion that he might be inhibited. Now she knew how wrong she had been about Seeley Booth.

Just like last afternoon on the couch he had claimed her body with a vigor and determination that was as far away from shy as possible. And during her own explorations he had held her eyes in unresisted openness. He was a demanding and giving lover, always waiting for her before joining her in pleasure. Never before had she met a man who could give her so much without the need to take control away from her. That was the reason why she could give it up so easily and willingly for him.

He murmured in his sleep now and pulled her closer to his body. She could feel his manhood nestling softly between her buttocks, and her desire awoke again. She experimentally moved her hips to rub against him, and in response he hardened a little. Brennan turned around in her partner's arms very carefully until she was face to face with his sleeping form. His face looked so peaceful in his slumber, and she cursed all the bad things he had experienced in his life so far. He was hers now, and she vowed to make him happy. She wanted to be that woman for him more than everything else.

Her hand disappeared under the covers, and she found him – hot, velvet and only half hard. She had really appreciated his firm strength last night, but being allowed to witness his unerect state during the defenselessness of sleep felt so intimate that it touched her deeply. She cared for this man so much and she wanted to see his smile first thing in the morning, so her fingers stroked over the smooth skin until he grew in her hand. As an anthropologist she knew how to touch a body, how to generate a reaction, but with him she was just like any other woman who wanted to please her man; who needed his response in more than just a physical way. Booth was still asleep, and she couldn't resist the temptation to place a soft kiss on his lips. He stirred then, and Brennan let her fingernails scratch over his balls very gently. Within a heartbeat he was fully awake and looking at her in astonishment. Satisfied that she had his attention now, Brennan continued her ministrations to his nether region and squeezed his member in a confident rhythm.

"Good morning, Booth."

"Good morning, Beautiful. I make an educated guess that you don't regret anything then?"

She smiled. "Maybe I regret a little bit that we fell asleep at some point, but I intend to make up for that."

His smile turned into an aroused moan when her thumb brushed over his tip, and she spread the wetness she found there all over him.

"Waking up today is even better than waking up yesterday," she stated before she lowered her mouth to his.

It was their first good morning kiss and it was full of sweet sensuality. Booth brought his hand to her neck to hold her in place as the kiss deepened and her caresses continued. He was so hard now that is was almost painful, but this was her show, and he didn't want to take control away from her. When she released his lips his head spun, and he almost missed how she straddled his hips with a cat-like elegance and lowered herself onto him in one exciting move.

"Aww."

They gasped in unison at the contact – now familiar but still overwhelming – and she began to move on top of him. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted and she had that little frown on her face that he loved so much. "Temptation' suits her even better than "Temperance",' he though as he found himself hypnotized by her natural seductiveness again. His hands found her beautiful breasts, squeezed them affectionately, and his fingers pinched her hardened nipples gently, just like he had learned she liked it. She moaned again and rolled her hips so sensually that the feeling of her body around his own took his breath away. He wanted to kiss her and pulled her down. His lips met hers as their chests touched, and he wrapped his arms around her.

Booth knew he was close and he needed his partner to be ready with him, so he pressed his palm to the small of her back and thrust into her from below. His new movement added friction to her most sensitive parts, and she felt streams of heat running through her body, everywhere and overpowering, until they all decided to concentrate on one spot. Temperance Brennan held her breath, raised from Booth one more time, locked her eyes with his and – the spot exploded. Her irises were sparkling blue, a rosy flush appeared on her cheeks, and he thanked every higher power in this world that she had let him witness this before he followed her into oblivion. The very first time she had came apart in his arms he had found himself mesmerized by the look on her face, but this time was incomparably better because there was no shame, no regret, no hurt. All he felt was pure bliss as he released deep inside of her. A second later she collapsed onto his chest. Instinctively his arms tightened around her again, allowing him to feel her fast heartbeat against his own.

When their breaths had returned to normal, Brennan raised her head to look at him. Their bodies were still joined, and she felt weightless on top of him. She touched his cheek in a loving gesture, and he opened his eyes.

His look was earnest as he said, "Temperance, I think that was the most stunning thing I've ever seen in my life. Thank you."

"You only saw what you made me feel, Booth."

A naughty smile found its way to his lips.

"I'm that good?"

Brennan laughed wholeheartedly and slapped his chest playfully.

"Maybe it was a bad idea, what you don't need is something to boost your ego."

His smile disappeared.

"No, it was a good idea. One day we have to do that in front of a mirror that you can see what you look like when you come. It's unbelievable."

She blushed at his words and lowered her eyes.

"Thank _you_, Booth. You made me feel special again."

"That is because you are special. You mean so much to me, Temperance," he uttered in a hoarse voice.

"I know, Booth," she whispered, "and you mean just as much to me."

She rolled down from him then and huddled against his side. As always, he enfolded her, kissed her hairline and rocked her until sleep overcame them once again.

The next time they stirred, it was almost noon. They were both reluctant to leave their bed and the solitude of the little cabin, but after they had breakfast and cleaned up the place, both of them shared the same thought: Let's take the love back home.


	13. The Elephant in the Room

XIII. The Elephant in the Room

It was late afternoon when Booth parked his black SUV in front of Brennan's apartment building. Before she could say something like "goodbye" he grabbed her bag from the backseat and jumped out of the car. She smiled while she observed him rounding the vehicle and opening her door. 'Always a gentleman,' she mused and left her seat.

"Booth, I'm perfectly capable of opening the door myself and carrying my own bag."

"I know, but do you remember my little speech about you being my girl?"

"So this is one more thing I have to take, then?"

"You got it, Baby," he answered nonchalantly and put his arm around her shoulders to pull her close.

Brennan laughed, and he placed a quick kiss on her temple. In response her hand wandered to his rear end, and she slapped his buttock. Booth arched one eyebrow at her.

"Equality, _Honey_," she purred, "you'll have to take my way to mark you as mine as well."

A cordial laugh left his throat, and the happy couple chuckled all the way to her apartment.

Brennan opened the door, threw her keys onto the drawer and pressed the button of her answering machine on autopilot. Immediately Angela's chatter filled the room, and Brennan listened to the message.

"It seems as if my best friend is worried we might have killed each other during our trip. I think I have to call her back."

Booth had listened to Angela's words as well.

"What will you tell her? You know, everything she finds out will be known by the whole Jeffersonian before lunchtime."

Brennan thought about his words.

"Would it hurt you if I said that I'd like to keep things between us for a while? I don't want to deny anything happened and I'm really sure, Booth, but I 'd like to have some time to get used to this before we become the main topic of the lab gossip."

"What happens between us is ours. I like that," he smiled at her and took her into his arms, "but whenever you're ready to share it, I'll be standing beside you."

He didn't tell her that they had been main topic of the Jeffersonian gossip for a long time; no need to ruin her sweet innocence. Booth released her with a brief kiss.

"What are your plans for the evening, Bones?"

"I'm way behind on the last chapter of my novel, I should probably write for a while. What about you?"

"I'm in the mood for a run and some hockey on TV," he said – even though above all else he was in the mood for spending more time with her, he wanted to give her space in case she needed it.

Brennan nodded at his words. "If you like, you could come back after that and spend the night with me," she finally offered, feeling a little bit insecure.

A big grin split his face, and within a heartbeat her face was in his hands as he captured her lips.

"I'd like that very much."

He deepened the kiss, and again she felt a rush of energy warming her from the inside out. When they broke apart after a few lovely minutes, she pressed her forehead to his.

"Booth, thank you for everything you did this weekend. I had a wonderful time."

Booth had to think of her words in Sweets' office.

"I'm glad we considered all the variables, Bones."

After Booth had left, Brennan brewed herself an herbal tea and called her best friend. She tried to tell as little of the truth as possible and was very satisfied with her effort. Thirty minutes later two women hung up. One of them opened her laptop and lost herself in the world of Kathy Reichs. The other one jumped into her husband's arms.

"They slept together, but she tried not to reveal it. She sounded happy."

Meanwhile, a handsome man in another part of the city put on his jogging shoes, and it was just another Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C. Not different from the ones before, yet for a man and a woman everything had changed. Later that evening he came back to her apartment to spend the night in her arms.

-BONES-

On Monday morning Brennan felt the eyes of her friends and coworkers on her every time they thought she wasn't looking. It was as if there was an elephant in the room nobody dared to talk about. It unnerved her, and she was glad when Booth came to take her to the Diner at lunchtime. He didn't kiss her – work was work – but just looking at him was different now. All the walls were down, and his presence filled her with deep warmth. On Tuesday some remains were found, and they had their first case together since the year apart. He had been right; she wanted to punch him several times, but they made it – on Wednesday evening the murder was solved. They celebrated the quick success with beer at the Founding Fathers and a serious make-out session in his car, followed by a passionate encounter on her couch. On Thursday they had to face Sweets again, and although the young psychologist immediately sensed the difference in their behavior, he didn't force them into revealing something and stayed true to the promise he had made to Booth on the day he had driven him home. On Friday Booth asked her if she wanted to come to the zoo with him and Parker the next day. Apparently there was a baby elephant "too cute for words" to see. She hesitated briefly, worrying about Parker's reaction. Booth assured her that the invitation had come from Parker, and Brennan thought of the little boy's impetuous welcome the day she had returned from Maluku. On Saturday two adults and a kid found themselves in a car on the way to the National Zoological Park.

-BONES-

Miraculously enough, it took Parker five minutes before he could talk his Dad into buying some cotton candy. Booth watched his son and his partner with a happy smile on his face while he stood in line for the fluffy sweets. His kid and Bones were the most important people in his life, and Booth enjoyed seeing them so at ease together. While his father was occupied, the little boy wasted no time.

"Bones, are you Daddy's girlfriend now?"

She frowned, completely unprepared for the question, but Parker deserved an answer, and so she tried to be as honest as possible.

"I don't know, Parker. He calls me 'his girl', but I think I might be a little bit too old to be somebody's girlfriend."

Parker processed her words thoroughly. "Does he kiss and cuddle you a lot?"

Brennan looked at Booth for rescue, but he was still standing in line, so she decided to tell the truth one more time.

"Yes, he does."

"And do you like it? Daddy is a good cuddler, you know."

That she did know, and so she smiled.

"Yes, I know, and I like it a lot."

After brief silence Parker nodded.

"I think you are his girlfriend, then."

"If it were like this, would it be okay with you?"

He beamed at her. "It would be cool, Bones. He's always smiling when you are around, and I think he won't go away again if you stay with him. Do you want to marry him? I'd like to have a little sister."

Brennan had to cough.

"Ahem, Parker, we haven't discussed this topic yet. Let's just wait and see what the future brings."

"Fine, but when you do discuss it, please don't forget my little sister."

His face was so serious that she had to suppress a chuckle.

"I will keep that in mind, Parker."

Just in time Booth arrived with the treats, and she thankfully accepted her pink cotton candy. The baby elephant was indeed very cute, following his mother everywhere, and Brennan couldn't help thinking of the boy's words.

"Booth," she whispered into her partner's ear.

"Hmm?"

"Parker found out, and I think he's okay with it."

"I know, Bones."

"Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"He wants a little sister."

Booth looked at Brennan in surprise and with a quick glance at Parker to make sure his attention was still focused on the elephants, he whispered, "My boy doesn't waste any time. What did you tell him?"

"That we haven't discussed little sisters yet."

"And what if we did, Bones?"

"We don't know what the next years might bring, but I think it would be best to prepare him for the fact that it could be a little brother as well."

He looked at her and couldn't believe the possibility she had just offered him. He had to kiss her – and so he did. When Parker turned around and saw his Dad hugging Bones, he watched the two adults with patience very uncharacteristic for a child and ate his green cotton candy in silence. Parker knew that hugs could lead to little sisters and he didn't want to ruin his chance to become a big brother. Even though that embrace lasted for a long time, they still had time to see apes, pandas and tigers, have fun in a merry-go-round and eat even more cotton candy that day. As they dropped Parker off at Rebecca's that evening, the little boy hugged Brennan very affectionately, and she felt high from sugar and happiness.


	14. The Correction of the former Mistake

XIV. The Correction of the Former Mistake

They had come a long way since their farewell at the airport and the reunion at the reflecting pool. There was only one thing Booth regretted, and that was the night when he had taken her against his wall, full of anger and hurt. The night he hadn't kissed her goodbye. They never spoke about it after the weekend at the cabin, but Brennan – despite being normally oblivious to things like that – could still sense Booth's disgust aimed at his own behavior. She needed him to forgive himself, and that was the reason why she knocked on his door one Thursday night. She wore the same dress she had worn that evening and she was determined to erase his bad memory now and forever.

Booth hadn't expected her tonight and found himself pleasantly surprised to see her, but before he could open his mouth for a greeting her lips were pressed to his in a firm way, and she pushed him back into his apartment. When the need for oxygen was impossible to ignore she had his back against the wall like she wanted.

"Booth, listen to me. I have a theory and need to perform a little experiment. Do I have your attention?"

He nodded breathlessly.

"Good. I know that you still regret the things you did to me against this wall, and even though I have learned to appreciate your concept of lovemaking in the last weeks I'm still convinced that there is no need to regret our first experience here."

"Temperance-"

She stilled him with her lips.

"No, Booth, let me speak. I need you to know," she struggled with the unfamiliar words, "that – I love you. Very much. I've already loved you that night, and therefore nothing you would have done to me could ever be meaningless or wrong."

Tears glistened in his eyes at her words.

"You love me?"

He looked as if he couldn't believe her, making her feel warmth inside of her that was almost unbearable, but she had run from that emotion for too long. Everything happens eventually, and for the two of them "eventually" was now; Temperance Brennan was finally ready to face love.

"With all my heart, Booth."

And with her words a pair of wings opened, lifted the burden from her back and carried her away – free as the bird she had observed on that perfect day at the lake.

"Oh, Bones..." He crushed her in his arms. "I love you so much. I knew it would happen the first time I saw you. I'm lost in you."

He was crying now, and her heart opened for him.

"You're not lost because I found you," she reasoned and started to kiss his tears away.

'She loves me,' his mind screamed with joy. 'She's mine and she loves me!'

She resumed her ministrations, and soon the sensations she created in his body demanded his full attention; Brennan was back on track with her little experiment.

"Booth," she requested then, "I want you to do exactly what you did that night."

"Are you sure?" Insecurity was written all over his face, but she ignored it.

"Yes, please. Do it as a favor to me. Do it for yourself."

So Booth gave in and flipped her around, pinning her against the wall, and again her legs opened for him, inviting his body. He kissed her one more time before his hand found her soft breast and kneaded her through the lace. He felt her nipples harden under his touch and brought his lips to her jaw, nibbling and licking the delicate skin there. She moaned in response and gripped his arms to steady herself. His other hand traveled down her thigh and disappeared under her dress. He could feel her wetness through the panties and grew hard instantly. Her long leg wrapped itself around his own, like it had that night, and he kissed her again, passionately and demandingly. When he entered her with his shaking fingers, she sighed in pleasure and closed her eyes.

Booth watched her face carefully, but he couldn't find any sign of discomfort, just pure lust that matched his own. Her cheeks were flushed, sweet little moans escaped her throat, and she looked out of control.

"Temperance, you're so beautiful, I love you so much."

His voice was raw, and her cerulean eyes flew open.

"And I love you, Booth. Please, I need more."

So he gave her more, pressed another finger into her hot core, and stroked her tongue in a rhythm with his intimate touches. She responded immediately, and it fueled his confidence. It didn't take long before he felt her tremble, and a little cry left her mouth. He held her close to his own shaking body as she rode her waves of ecstasy until she collapsed on the floor, taking him with her. She was panting heavily, and Booth watched her in awe. His fingers were still inside of her body, and he tried to prolong her ecstasy with soft caresses. When she returned to the world, he smiled at her. Her hair was mussed, her dress disheveled, and she looked amazing.

"You really liked that."

It wasn't a question, but nevertheless she nodded.

"And you needed that. Now you can take me to bed and make sweet and slow love to me as long as you want to."

Booth didn't hesitate a second. With her permission he picked her up from the floor and carried her to his bedroom. She was light and perfect in his arms, and she placed her head on his chest in a trusting way that made him feel like the happiest bastard on earth. He laid her down in the middle of his bed very carefully, and she let him undress her. Part of her was still recovering from her orgasm; another part of her knew that he needed _this_ as well. He needed to take care of her. When she was completely naked he took a minute to simply look at her gorgeous body, and without a hint of shame she allowed him do what he had to. Then he undressed himself quickly and joined her on the comfortable bed. He took in a sitting position – his back resting against the bedhead – and pulled her onto his lap. She came willingly and straddled his legs until her foreside melted into his. He tugged her head to his shoulder, buried his nose in her hair and inhaled a deep breath.

Booth was pretty sure he could recognize her with his eyes closed among hundreds of people just because of her scent. Her soft curls tickled his face, and he brushed his palm over the back of her head.

"Booth, I love you and I'm sorry that I needed so long to realize it."

He wasn't used to these words yet, and again pure joy clanged inside his chest.

"Don't be sorry, my love, we're here now. That's all that matters."

With his words he lifted her effortlessly and lowered her very tenderly onto his hard shaft. She moaned as she felt him stretching her inner muscles, and her tight walls clenched around him briefly. Booth simply held her, content to be inside of her, and she felt small and safe in his arms. After a while of lovely stillness he began to rock her back and forth very slowly; she followed his movements with an unbreakable trust. This wasn't about desire or release, the sole purpose of their contact was connection. She touched his face and reassured him with her eyes, but soon she felt tingles in her stomach again. Nevertheless, it took her by surprise when uncontrollable sweetness exploded inside of her, so powerful that she had to gasp. Booth felt her muscles contract around his member violently and forced himself to keep his movements slow and steady. He rocked her through her orgasm, and when she finally opened her eyes again, he was still firm inside of her and watched her with an adoring smile.

"I love, you, Temperance."

He couldn't get enough of saying those words to her, and with a soft kiss to his lips she reached behind her body and cupped his balls to heighten his stimulation. Booth groaned, and his strokes lost their slow determination, becoming more powerful. She knew she couldn't respond that fast again, so she simply caressed and watched him, as finally release washed over his body. He held her gaze – and suddenly she knew why it had touched him so much when she had let him witness her own orgasm. He was so beautiful, his face almost painful in pleasure, and his eyes full of emotion. Dark sparkles appeared in the brown depths, and she knew that from now on they were only hers to see. When he was completely spent, she lowered her head to his chest, placed her ear over his heart and listened to the fast beats. His hand drew lazy circles over her back.

"You're mine, Booth."

"I know, Temperance. And you're mine."

"We are happy, aren't we?"

"Yes, Baby, we are so incredibly happy."

She felt weak and strong at the same time as Booth gently tugged her down, nestled her into his side and wrapped the blanket around them carefully. He kissed her temple, and a peace born out of love and satisfaction settled over the room where two people lay as close as possible in the middle of a warm bed.

"Booth, I like the green on the other side," Temperance Brennan murmured before she fell asleep in the arms of the smiling man who cared about her so much.

She felt safe and beloved – like it was meant to be.

The End (in the Beginning)


End file.
